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3.2 Aircraft Systems


        Electrical systems in Airplanes allow safer flight and easier workloads for pilots. The electrical systems allow fly-by-wire flight controls and receive and interpret critical information to the aircrew. A failure in this system, while not the end of the world, would require immediate attention and a confident and well-trained pilot to handle.

         Your first primary source of power is your alternator or generator. Then you have voltage regulators. A loss in electricity would affect your secondary flight controls and other crucial components such as flaps, landing gear, and fuel pumps. It is important to continuously monitor you ammeters during flight so that you may spot a battery failure before it becomes too complicated to recover. You should focus on conserving electricity for the landing.

          Another very serious electrical problem is electrical fires. Electrical Fires are very dangerous and could quickly spread to the cockpit and seriously injure passengers and aircrew. Information on what the best course of action is for your aircraft in the event of an electrical fire will always be published in the Pilot Operating Handbook. You should turn off all electrical equipment and utilize your fire extinguisher as soon as possible.

Electrical failure also means that you will lose any information stored on a glass cockpit screen. This is why it is important to be familiar with reading steam gauges. Of course, not only your flight instruments no longer show n the screen, but your map as well. Knowing how to navigate the "old way" such as using dead reckoning and knowing how to read sectional charts is essential to being a well-informed and confident pilot.




Reference:

 Electrical Malfunctions. (2016, April 02). Retrieved from https://www.aopa.org/training-and-safety/students/flighttestprep/skills/electrical-malfunctions

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