THE ASSESSMENT OF CAPABILITIES TO PROLONG SERVICE LIVES OF INDIVIDUAL AEROPLANES IN THE COURSE OF OPERATIONAL PHASE

摘要

The aircraft manufacturers set up operation lives of their products determined with flight hours and calendar-based time intervals. After the expiration of the service life a question arises whether the aircraft should be phased out of service while it still shows good health/maintenance status and capability enough for being operated further on. The aircraft's health/maintenance status is affected by many and various factors, e.g. environment in which it. is operated, tasks/missions performed, materials used, and manufacturing processes applied. Instead of rigid principles to be strictly followed in the case the aircraft's operation life has expired and its health/maintenance status proves there is still some service life left, the aircraft manufacturers usually give some guidelines on how to proceed. All actions aimed at prolonging the service lives of individual aircraft, should be preceded with analysis of criteria according to which this should be done, with the actual health/maintenance status of the aircraft serving as the basis for steps to follow. The knowledge of the history of operation of particular aircraft gives grounds for carefully and honestly approaching the problem of extending their service lives. If the history remains unknown, the principles set by the manufacturer(s) will be in force. The already gained operational experience proves that the actual service lives of aircraft on the inventory of the Polish Armed Forces are practically longer and that it is quite feasible to prolong the operational-use periods just after reaching the manufacturer-indicated expiry dates. What has been presented in the paper is some particular approach to the problem of extending service lives of aircraft designed with the method based on the safe-life principle, ones operated by the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland.