A poorly maintained aircraft is like a ticking time bomb—it’s not safe for you or your passengers. Ensuring flight safety is a primary responsibility for industry professionals overseeing Private Charter and Aviation, FBOs, and private terminals.
The stakes are as high as the altitudes you’ll be flying at when it comes to airplane maintenance, and welcome to your thorough handbook. You can’t afford to ignore airplane maintenance, even though it’s simple to become preoccupied with running your business, handling customer relations, and maximizing profit margins.
This manual gives you a methodical way to maintain the airworthiness and effectiveness of your fleet. Maintaining a culture of ongoing care and attention is crucial to ensuring that your operations are not only efficient but also world-class. It goes beyond simply mending broken equipment. Together, we can go over the finer points and ensure that your planes are never left in repair bays, but are constantly prepared for flight.
Don’t Leave Open Or Unlocked Aircraft Hangars
Security is crucial in airplane hangars. Safe fuel storage tanks and supply lines are just as important as protecting the facility’s equipment, including the aircraft. While waiting for fuel trucks to arrive at their airports, aircraft owners who request aviation fuel delivery services usually leave the hangar door open. Aviation doors shouldn’t be open after the plane has been filled, as long as you take precautions. However, hangar doors may need to be left open throughout the filling process. An unlocked door might always be the beginning of a disaster, even though many hangar owners take security procedures to ensure their hangars are safe before leaving, particularly if they return to find all of their aircraft and equipment taken.
Have a security inspection done by an aviation mechanic if you’re not sure if your hangar is sufficiently secured. It is not advisable to rely on other aircraft owners for assistance of this nature, as there is a possibility that an individual who does not possess an aircraft or fuel storage tank may enter your unlocked hangar and take items without providing proper authorization.
Create an Emergency Evacuation Plan
There should be emergency evacuation protocols in place for each of your hangars. Marked exits may seem like simple wisdom, but in a true emergency, people occasionally fear or freeze, which can have devastating results. Regular practice of your emergency evacuation plan can help everyone remember it and make it easier for muscle memory to take over in the event of a true disaster.
Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)
In addition to having extra PPE for any passengers who could be on site, you should have enough for all staff members. PPE consists of things like high-visibility vests, gloves, protective footwear, eye and hearing protection, and protective eyewear. Additionally, we advise keeping non-slip shoes on hand.
Every hangar should have easily accessible PPE so that individuals may rapidly retrieve it in an emergency. Your employees may always wear personal protective equipment (PPE), such as hearing protection, as hangars for airplanes can be extremely noisy.
Fire Safety
The risk of a fire increases significantly when you combine the extremely flammable chemicals and liquids that are frequently found in aircraft hangars with numerous electrical outlets. Having stated that, the following fire safety measures are essential for your hangar:
The appropriate quantity of fire extinguishers for your hangar’s size
Extinguishers for fire that are the proper size and kind
An audit trail for all fire extinguisher inspections, prominently shown
Every employee should receive annual training on how to utilize fire extinguishers.
Floors Need to Be Cleaned
Tools, electrical cords, rollaway boxes, hoses, and many other items are scattered throughout the hangar to maintain the aircraft. These are all trip hazards that could cause harm to an employee or cause important equipment to topple over. If at all possible, experts advise employing an overhead retractable reel. Additionally, secure cords to prevent any chance of harm.
Take Note Of Foreign Objects Damage (FOD)
One of the main things that damage airplanes is FOD. It can also have an expensive repair cost and impact insider safety. Thus, do your best to keep the operating and ramp areas clean. and make sure that all machinery is properly stored and that the relevant FAA program for tool control is followed.
Plenty of Ground Support Equipment
Many tools and personnel are needed for the maintenance of the hangar and the aircraft. To ensure that maintenance procedures go quickly, you require excellent ground support equipment. The following are some items you ought to buy for your hangar:
- Aircraft tugs
- Testing carts
- Aircraft jacks
- Electrical tugs
- Stabilizer stands for airplanes
The aircraft and organizational objectives should always be appropriately matched with the available equipment. An inadequately built maintenance hangar will result in mishaps and inefficiency. However, your business can offer the best airplane service if you invest in a top-notch hangar and equipment.
An Excellent Way to Cool Your Aircraft Hangar Is Using Portacool
A portable portable evaporative cooler is an intelligent, practical, and economical way to keep your aircraft hangar cool in addition to insulation. You may adjust the evaporative cooler to direct cool air toward you while working in any location. The air can also be significantly cooled by it. In hot and dry weather, it can reduce air temperature by thirty degrees Fahrenheit in addition to providing a cooling effect as the cool air passes over you. It can drop the temperature by 13°F, even in hot and muggy weather, and that makes a big impact.
Security System
A lot of aircraft owners make the mistake of not giving hangar security enough thought. When you think about all that may happen if someone tried to break into your aircraft hangar without authorization, it may not seem excessive at first. Do you realize how many burglaries and robberies happen annually as a result of this common security blunder at airplane hangars? The startling figure suggests that people who don’t take aviation hangar security seriously lose millions of dollars annually. If hangar security isn’t something you currently have, it’s something you should consider! Invest in a security system with an integrated camera for live streaming video around the clock and the ability to capture pictures of certain