Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 July 2016
The practice of removing aircraft items for overhaul at specified periods has gradually extended in recent years, so that most types of equipment and instruments have come to be dealt with in this way. The period between overhauls is often called–somewhat inappropriately–the life of the item and, for the sake of brevity, this is the word used in this paper.
The primary object of this procedure is to remove the items for overhaul before defects occur. If this is achieved, two benefits accrue:–
(a) the defect rate is minimised, with consequent improvement to safety.
(b) the operator does the work at convenient times at the overhaul base instead of being driven to do work when and where defects occur.