From painting to black box: see 10 curiosities about commercial aviation

Due to its complexity, aviation is one of the themes that generate great interest and curiosity in the population.

In 2023, according to the latest data from the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac), 91.4 million passengers were transported by more than 789,200 household flights.

Also according to Anac, in 2023 Brazilian airlines had a fleet composed of 545 aircraft, most of which consist of Boeing and Airbus equipment.

THE CNN prepared a list of ten curiosities about commercial aviation. See below .

1) What is the tire pressure of an airplane?

The tire pressure of an airplane varies according to the size of the aircraft. See some examples:

• Airbus A320: 200 psi
• Boeing 767: 205 psi
• Boeing 787: 200 psi
• Boeing 777: 218 psi

The above values ​​are reference and may change according to some variables, such as temperature.

Psi means square inch pound, and is one of the units of measurement used to indicate pressure on tires. For the purpose of comparison: Hyundai, for example, guides the owners of Crete family vehicles who use between 33 and 36 psi in automobiles with rim tires 16.

2) How are the airplane tires filled?

Unlike passenger cars tires, which are inflated with air, aircraft tires are nitrogen filled.

According to an Anac supplementary instruction, until 1987 “the airplane tires were pressurized with compressed air provided with air compressors.”

“However, there were proven cases where oxygen in the air used for filling reacted with overeating tire volatile gases […] and that reached the mixture self -ignition limit inside the tire. In at least one case, there was catastrophic loss of the aircraft. Similar explosions caused the death of aircraft passengers, ”says the text.

As a result, says Anac’s instruction after the publication of a resolution of the United States FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), nitrogen is used to inflate “at least on the brake -equipped wheels.”

One reason that nitrogen is used is the fact that this gas is not flammable, reducing the risk of fire or explosions. In addition, nitrogen maintains the most stable tire pressure during the flight.

3) How is aircraft painting?

Latam reports that, in the case of the company’s aircraft, all regular painting is done manually, without the use of adhesives.

“Everything is painted manually, including the logo and the details of the tail, using painting masks produced in our workshop,” says the company.

In the case of special paintings – as marketing campaigns – the aircraft is adhesive.

“We already had, for example, a campaign in which we put a sticker with the face of a personality of the sport in the fuselage. This would be a very difficult painting to run manually,” adds the company.

4) How much paint is used to paint a plane

Also according to Latam, about 240 liters of paint are used to paint an aircraft from the Airbus A320 family. This amount covers the primer – which is a substance for surface preparation – the ink and the varnish.

The company informs that the entire painting process takes about seven days.

See a plane being painted:

5) Where is the black box?

Anac defines the black box as an extremely resistant “orange box (orange) box in which all flight and phytia parameters between pilots and controllers are recorded”.

The Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention Center (Cenipa) informs that this equipment is orange “because it is an easier to find”.

Black boxes are stored at the back of the aircraft near the tail. Normally, the plane’s tail is the part that suffers the last impact after an accident and, therefore, suffers less damage.

Airplanes that make regular commercial operation contain two black boxes: Flight Data Recorder (FDR)-Flight Data-and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), which records dialogues in the command cabin.

“FDR is a flight parameter data recording equipment that can be extracted after the operation to analyze the behavior of the aircraft and, in the event of an accident, assist in the investigation,” says Anac.

CVR “is the device used to record the sounds of the communications made in the aircraft cockpit according to their communication channels: pilot channel with traffic control, pilot channel with the pilot pilot channel with passenger/commissioner and general channel of the piloting cabin environment,” says Cenipa.

Airbus reports that the A350 black boxes can manage about 3,500 parameters for 25 hours, including information on Cockpit, flight controls, autopilot, air conditioning, fuel systems, hydraulic and electric systems, engines and others.

6) What is the black box made of?

The black box is made of a steel and titanium alloy, capable of supporting forces from above 3,000 g (3,000 times the gravitational force of the earth) and temperatures that can vary from -60 ° C to 1,100 ° C.

According to Cenipa, most black boxes “have the average size of a shoe box and weighs about 5 pounds.”

The NTSB (National Translation Security Council, translation), a US body responsible for investigating air accidents, informs that each black box is equipped with a device that helps the location of the equipment if it falls on water and sink.

The agency reports that data and voice recorders resist water pressure at a depth of up to 20,000 feet – equivalent to just over 6,000 meters.

7) Where are the fuel tanks?

The fuel tanks of the aircraft are located inside the wings. Some aircraft have central tanks, located in the middle of the wings.

• Airbus A320Ce: 27,200 liters
• Airbus A380: 320 thousand liters
• Boeing 737-600: 26,020 liters
• Boeing 747-400: 216,840 liters
• Boeing 777-200: 117,340 liters
• EMBRAER E195: 16,153 liters

According to Anac, in jet planes, the fuel used is the kerosene of aviation, also known as QAV. Another fuel used is aviation gasoline, which, according to Petrobras, “is the fuel used predominantly in small aircraft, equipped with an internal combustion piston engine, with spark ignition to move your propeller.”

See the interior of the tank of an Airbus A320:

8) Turbine and engine are not the same

Although jet aircraft engines are often called turbines, both terms are not synonymous.

“The turbine is the final session of the engine,” says engineer Marcos Melchiori, senior manager of Latam Mro-the company’s aircraft maintenance center, located in São Carlos (SP), where the team of CNN It was the company’s invitation.

He explains that after entering the engine, the air goes through the compression stage, where it gains pressure. “Then he goes to the combustion chamber, where he explodes, and finally passes through the turbine, where he generates the energy that rotates the entire paddling system to capture more air, in this cyclical process of power generation.”

“So when it comes to the aircraft’s turbine, it’s just this final session, which takes this air driven after the combustion chamber and makes the whole system rotate,” adds Melchiori.

9) How long does it take to fill a freighter plane

Latam reports that the estimated time for loading a Boeing 767 is 30 minutes, considering an average of 1 minute per pallet.

The organization of the load on board is done through aeronautical pallets. The load compartments are equipped with side rails, central guides and fixed locks for each position, allowing the airplace pallets to move.

“Our freighters are divided into three distinct compartments: the main deck, located at the top; the low -back Lower Deck on the front and rear basement; and Bulk, a unique compartment on the back of the aircraft,” the company explains.

In Main Deck and Lower Deck, there are side rails, central guides and fixed locks for each position, which allow the pallets to move.

The decision on how the load will be distributed in the aircraft is taken according to the weight, taking into account the balancing and the center of gravity. “The goal is to distribute the weight in a balanced way along the aircraft, seeking the center of ideal gravity within the limits established in the balancing chart and ensuring the lateral balance between the left and right sides,” says the company.

See how a freighter plane is:

10) What is the phonetic alphabet

In communication between riders and traffic controllers, letters are not cited as in the traditional alphabet.

The Department of Airspace Control (DECEA) explains that “international phonetic alphabet is intended to standardize the process of spelling certain expressions in order to prevent any possibility of misunderstanding”.

See how the letters are in the phonetic alphabet:

• A: Alpha
• B: Bravo
• C: Charlie
• D: Delta
• E: Echo
• F: FOXTROT
• G: Golf
• H: Hotel
• I: India
• J: Juliett
• K: Kilo
• L: LIMA
• M: Mike
• N: NOVEMBER
• O: Oscar
• Q: Papa
• Q: Quebec
• A: Romeo
• S: Sierra
• T: tango
• U: Uniform
• V: Victor
• W: Whiskey
• X: x-ray
• Y: Yankee
• Z: Zulu

For example, a PS-ABC prefix would perform to the control tower as Papa Sierra Alfa Bravo Charlie.

Bonus: See how is the cockpit of a Boeing 787

This content was originally published in Da Painting to Black Box: See 10 Curiosities on Commercial Aviation on CNN Brazil.

Source: CNN Brasil