Aviation Maintenance General Science, Mathematics, and Inspection Procedures Block 1

Vocabulary flashcards reviewing essential concepts from aviation maintenance, including aerodynamics, nondestructive inspection (NDI) methods, FAA regulations, flight controls, atmospheric physics, and basic mathematics.

Air Density and Pressure Relationship

A physical relationship in which a decrease in air pressure causes a decrease in the density of the air.

Humidity

The amount of water vapor present in the air.

Absolute Humidity

The actual amount of water vapor in a mixture of air and water.

Relative Density of Moist Air vs. Dry Air

Air that holds water vapor is lighter than dry air, because water vapor weighs $\frac{5}{8}$ as much as dry air; consequently, a mixture of $78$ parts dry air to $22$ parts water vapor weighs more than mixtures with higher proportions of water vapor.

Rudder

The primary flight control surface that controls an aircraft's movement around its vertical axis, producing yaw.

Elevator

The primary flight control surface that controls an aircraft's movement about its lateral axis, producing pitch.

Ailerons

The flight control surfaces that control an aircraft's movement around its longitudinal axis, producing roll.

Trim Tabs

A secondary flight control used to trim and stabilize control surfaces during flight.

Standard Sea Level Pressure

The standard atmospheric pressure at sea level, defined as $29.92\text{'' Hg}$ at $59^\circ\text{F}$.

Rankine

The temperature scale used the least among the four standard temperature scales (Celsius, Fahrenheit, Kelvin, and Rankine).

Aspect Ratio

The ratio of an aircraft wing's wingspan to its mean chord.

Eddy Current Inspection

An inspection method used to detect surface cracks, pits, subsurface cracks, and corrosion on inner surfaces, as well as to determine alloy composition and heat-treat condition.

Magnetic Particle Inspection

A nondestructive inspection method for detecting cracks, laps, seams, voids, pits, subsurface holes, and other surface or slightly subsurface discontinuities in ferromagnetic materials.

Dye Penetrant Inspection

An inspection process used on nonporous metal and nonmetal components to locate material discontinuities open to the surface that may not be visible to normal visual inspection.

Ultrasonic Inspection

A nondestructive inspection (NDI) technique that utilizes sound energy traveling through a test specimen to detect internal flaws.

Tap Testing

A simple inspection procedure used to detect delamination in composite materials.

Lift and Weight Equilibrium

The balanced flight state in which the aircraft's weight force equals its lift force, allowing the aircraft to remain in level flight.

Airworthiness Directives (ADs)

Official regulatory notifications published to inform aircraft owners and operators of unsafe conditions that may affect a particular aircraft.

Vertical Stabilizer

A fixed vertical tail surface on an aircraft designed to provide directional stability.

Type Certificate Data Sheet (TCDS)

An FAA-generated document that describes the type design, sets forth limitations prescribed by applicable CFR parts, and details specifications necessary for type certification—including the maximum weight of the aircraft.

Annual Inspection

A comprehensive aircraft inspection that must be performed every $12$ calendar months by a certificated aircraft mechanic holding an Inspection Authorization (IA).

100-Hour Propeller Inspection

A required inspection on a propeller that must be performed by a certificated mechanic holding a Powerplant Rating.

Kinetic Energy (Temperature)

The form of energy measured by temperature, reflecting the motion of molecules within a substance.

Numerator

The number written above the fraction bar in a fraction.

Visual Inspection

The most common inspection procedure, accounting for approximately $80\%$ of all nondestructive inspection (NDI) methods.

Product of Two Negative Numbers

A basic mathematical principle stating that the product resulting from the multiplication of two negative numbers is always positive.

Lowest Terms of $\frac{25}{80}$

$\frac{5}{16}$, obtained by dividing both the numerator and the denominator by their greatest common factor, $5$.