Aircraft Systems Classifications

2The Airframe and Systems Overview

2.1 Introduction

This chapter introduces the airframe and its systems to start to explore the interactions between them. The chapter also introduces the mechanism by which the key characteristics of each will be described in the following chapters. An important point to be understood is how the systems exist as individuals for the purpose of design responsibility, but they are also inextricably linked as a result of interfaces and interactions resulting from their own functional behaviours, and also by the actions of the humans in the system – the aircrew, the cabin crew, and ground operations. There are factors that act in common on all systems directly and indirectly. They may occur randomly throughout the life of the system and although they may appear at first glance to be unpredictable, they are, nevertheless, well understood and must be included in design considerations. These factors include environmental conditions such as temperature, vibration, and electromagnetic effects. It is important to keep this in view at every stage of the design because these interactions are not always readily apparent.

The aircraft is a combination of the airframe and its systems that give the aircraft a purpose and the means to achieve that purpose with the aid of human operators. It is therefore a combination that requires many interconnections and interactions, some intentional, indeed designed, and others that may not have been intended but happen ...