Avionics News March 2013 - 32

TESTING TECHNOLOGY
Continued from page 31

NO NEW MAGIC
Pitot and Darcy focused on the
more viscous end of the fluid spectrum. But since their day, rotating
vane meters and electronic instruments have replaced the pitot-static
systems that once measured flowing liquids. At the vaporous end of
the fluid spectrum, it remains the
sole source of original data, and
Don Dominguez, the 25-year avionics veteran who teaches a pitotstatic and transponder certification
training course for the Aircraft
Electronics Association, doesn’t
ever see this changing.
“There’s no new magic there
for those inputs,” Dominguez said.
“Static is your reference, pitot is
your variable, and you’ll always need
them to figure altitude and airspeed.”
Regular tests and inspections of
the pitot-static system and components connected to it are two other
things that will not change. To fly
under instrument flight rules in controlled airspace, Federal Aviation
Regulation 91.411 requires aircraft
to have passed, within the preceding
24 months, an inspection and test of
“each static pressure system, each
altimeter instrument, and each automatic pressure reporting system…
and found to comply with appendix
E of Part 43.” Transponders and
their Mode C encoders are covered
by FAR 91.413, appendix F of Part
43 and a 24-month timetable.
Looking back a quarter century,
Dominguez recalled no significant
changes in the test and inspection
requirements spelled out in the appendixes to Part 43. The equipment
used to conduct the tests and inspec32

avionics news

•

march

2013

Photo by Scott M. Spangler

Future techs in Fox Valley Technical College’s maintenance and avionics programs test a King Air’s
transponder with the Wisconsin school’s Aeroflex IFR 6000 test unit.

tions is another matter. Dominguez
started his avionics career with the
U.S. Army in 1987.
“Way back when, you had a test
box with hand pumps that applied
pressure,” Dominguez said. “You had
a set of valves to run the pitot-static
system, the altimeter and the airspeed
indicator. If you had a leak in the
system, you would have to offset it by
continuing to pump.”
Since then, electric pumps have replaced manual pressure producers, according to Dominguez. And electronics have replaced mechanical master
instruments, but old or new, they must
still be calibrated annually. During the
past five or six years, test boxes have
advanced by leaps and bounds. Many
include handheld control pads that allow the technician to set the required
test parameters from the pilot’s seat.

“You set 15,000 feet at 200 knots,
and it will automatically run through
those checks,” Dominguez continued.
The more advanced test units come
“preprogrammed with the whole
91.411 and 91.413 inspection process
so you can just hit next, next, next to
move through the test points.”
After setting the altimeter to 29.92,
the process checks 21 altitudes between minus 1,000 to 50,000 feet or
the aircraft’s “maximum normally
expected operating altitude” at a setting of 29.92. The technician eyeballs
the instrument for the allowable plusor-minus scale error. The test set also
holds the altitude for the required
time while measuring any deviation
and its rate of change. “Back in the
day, technicians did that with a stopContinued on page 34



Avionics News March 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News March 2013

Point of Communication
AEA Now
The View from Washington
International News and Regulatory Updates
Android Devices and Software to EFBs, Tablets and Accessories
Member Profile
Testing Technology
Avionics News Through the Years
A Conversation With...
Member Profile
AEAviators
Minimal Panels
Before & After
Clear Skies Ahead
Aviation Aces
Legal Ease
Meat and Potatoes Avionics
Business Basics
Lines of Communication
What's New
Avionics News March 2013 - Intro
Avionics News March 2013 - Cover1
Avionics News March 2013 - Cover2
Avionics News March 2013 - 1
Avionics News March 2013 - 2
Avionics News March 2013 - 3
Avionics News March 2013 - Point of Communication
Avionics News March 2013 - 5
Avionics News March 2013 - AEA Now
Avionics News March 2013 - 7
Avionics News March 2013 - 8
Avionics News March 2013 - 9
Avionics News March 2013 - 10
Avionics News March 2013 - 11
Avionics News March 2013 - 12
Avionics News March 2013 - 13
Avionics News March 2013 - The View from Washington
Avionics News March 2013 - 15
Avionics News March 2013 - International News and Regulatory Updates
Avionics News March 2013 - 17
Avionics News March 2013 - 18
Avionics News March 2013 - 19
Avionics News March 2013 - Android Devices and Software to EFBs, Tablets and Accessories
Avionics News March 2013 - 21
Avionics News March 2013 - 22
Avionics News March 2013 - 23
Avionics News March 2013 - 24
Avionics News March 2013 - 25
Avionics News March 2013 - Member Profile
Avionics News March 2013 - 27
Avionics News March 2013 - 28
Avionics News March 2013 - 29
Avionics News March 2013 - Testing Technology
Avionics News March 2013 - 31
Avionics News March 2013 - 32
Avionics News March 2013 - 33
Avionics News March 2013 - 34
Avionics News March 2013 - 35
Avionics News March 2013 - Avionics News Through the Years
Avionics News March 2013 - 37
Avionics News March 2013 - A Conversation With...
Avionics News March 2013 - 39
Avionics News March 2013 - Member Profile
Avionics News March 2013 - 41
Avionics News March 2013 - 42
Avionics News March 2013 - 43
Avionics News March 2013 - AEAviators
Avionics News March 2013 - 45
Avionics News March 2013 - 46
Avionics News March 2013 - 47
Avionics News March 2013 - Minimal Panels
Avionics News March 2013 - 49
Avionics News March 2013 - 50
Avionics News March 2013 - 51
Avionics News March 2013 - 52
Avionics News March 2013 - 53
Avionics News March 2013 - Before & After
Avionics News March 2013 - 55
Avionics News March 2013 - Clear Skies Ahead
Avionics News March 2013 - 57
Avionics News March 2013 - 58
Avionics News March 2013 - 59
Avionics News March 2013 - Aviation Aces
Avionics News March 2013 - 61
Avionics News March 2013 - 62
Avionics News March 2013 - 63
Avionics News March 2013 - Legal Ease
Avionics News March 2013 - 65
Avionics News March 2013 - 66
Avionics News March 2013 - 67
Avionics News March 2013 - 68
Avionics News March 2013 - 69
Avionics News March 2013 - Meat and Potatoes Avionics
Avionics News March 2013 - 71
Avionics News March 2013 - 72
Avionics News March 2013 - 73
Avionics News March 2013 - 74
Avionics News March 2013 - 75
Avionics News March 2013 - 76
Avionics News March 2013 - 77
Avionics News March 2013 - Business Basics
Avionics News March 2013 - 79
Avionics News March 2013 - 80
Avionics News March 2013 - 81
Avionics News March 2013 - Lines of Communication
Avionics News March 2013 - 83
Avionics News March 2013 - 84
Avionics News March 2013 - 85
Avionics News March 2013 - 86
Avionics News March 2013 - 87
Avionics News March 2013 - 88
Avionics News March 2013 - 89
Avionics News March 2013 - What's New
Avionics News March 2013 - 91
Avionics News March 2013 - 92
Avionics News March 2013 - 93
Avionics News March 2013 - 94
Avionics News March 2013 - 95
Avionics News March 2013 - 96
Avionics News March 2013 - Cover3
Avionics News March 2013 - Cover4
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