How to manage Aircraft Flight Statistics simple and efficient?
Aircraft flight utilization and statistics have a pivotal role in determining which variables in the aircraft maintenance program need to be followed. Do you need to execute high utilization tasks, are you allowed to perform sampling tasks on a small number of aircraft? These are just a few examples of the role of aircraft flight statistics. In addition, it can be an important metric when it comes to root cause analysis on aircraft defects. How can you properly manage this important piece of information?
Aircraft utilization is typically expressed in True Aircraft Hours (TAH) and True Aircraft Cycles (TAC). TAH has an important role in determining the moments in time when hour-controlled maintenance inspections need to be performed. TAC is important for those tasks that are controlled by number of landings and take-offs (which a cycle represents). These are typically landing gear tasks or tasks on aircraft systems that are subjected to higher forces during take-off and landing.
Typically, TAH and TAC is an accumulation of flights flown starting from the moment the aircraft is leaving the production line at the manufacturer. Within the full live of an aircraft this is captured in various airline operational systems as well as the aircraft flight logbook. Even in cases where an aircraft is sold to another owner / operator a full record of all flights flown needs to be handed over as well.
Within Avilytics all this information is automatically collated and visualized in the flight statistics module. This allows near to real-time online insight in aircraft utilization, either on fleet level or individual aircraft tails. Additionally, it allows to compare custom time periods such as winter or summer season or compare different years with one another. Based on that same datasets it also gives insight in the sectors most flown by individual aircraft or the full fleet.
A quick metric also provides insights into delays that lasted more then 180 minutes and might be potentially subjected to additional passenger compensation.
How to monitor data inconsistencies in aircraft utilization?
Aircraft Utilization is a critical value in driving maintenance due forecasting on any aircraft. Inconsistencies arising in the accumulation of either flight hour or flight cycles can have significant consequences on maintenance overruns and subsequent airworthiness of the aircraft. Often occurring example is the recording of pilot training flights in which a high number of landings are performed as part of touch and go training. All to often these flights are initially recorded with their total flight duration and 2 aircraft cycles (one for take-off and one for landing). Only after the copy of the flightlog is made available it becomes apparent that there might have been 10 or 15 cycles which in turn triggers maintenance requirement to become due. Even the simpler examples hold ground at which a simple typo of either a zero to much or to less can have significant consequences.
Tip: Routinely checking on anomalies in flight statistics will allow to quickly spot any potential data errors in flight hours or flight cycles accumulation.
Especially in high utilization environment having a visual view of hours and cycles accumulation per aircraft over time will allow to quickly spot any anomalies in the total flight hours accumulation. It is significantly faster compared to reviewing each individual flight record and more effectively steers attention towards the flight legs providing issues.
Do you have any questions?
Feel free to contact us or give us a call on +31 20 8200 7600. We would be happy to help you further.
What is AVILYTICS?
AVILYTICS is a fully out-of-the-box aircraft reliability management solution that focuses on providing insights in technical reliability, upcoming potential technical failures as well as organizational efficiency analytics. It combines the traditional scope of aircraft and fleet reliability management with advanced techniques from predictive analytics to also build AOG risk profiles of aircraft, identify aircraft based reoccurring defects and measure organization performance. A full holistic approach to using data in order to increase aircraft availability and fleet performance. h