Aero-Tips!

A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of "there are no old, bold pilots.") It's part of what makes aviation so exciting for all of us... just when you think you've seen it all, along comes a scenario you've never imagined.

Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner, master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us -- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators, and as representatives of the flying community. Some of them, you may have heard before... but for each of us, there will also be something we might never have considered before, or something that didn't "stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized it for the practical test.

It is our unabashed goal that "Aero-Tips" will help our readers become better, safer pilots -- as well as introducing our ground-bound readers to the concepts and principles that keep those strange aluminum-and-composite contraptions in the air... and allow them to soar magnificently through it.

Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to you through the Aero-News Network. Suggestions for future Aero-Tips are always welcome, as are additions or discussion of each day's tips. Remember... when it comes to being good pilots, we're all in this together.

Aero-Tips 01.11.06

If your airplane has an electrical system, it has circuit protection. Circuit breakers (let’s call them CBs) monitor the flow of electricity and, if flow rate exceeds the tolerance of an associated piece of equipment, “pop” to remove power before an overheat leads to fire.

Type of CBs

There are three types of CBs commonly found in cockpits. Classic airplanes (arbitrarily, from about 1970 and older) often have CBs that cannot be manually cycled, with a hard plastic case surrounding the “popping” part. More modern CBs are the familiar round discs you can pull with your fingers (right). Another common type of CB is a switch-type CB. An ON/OFF switch may be directly attached to a circuit breaker, so that the switch turns OFF in an overheat.

If a breaker pops:

1. Allow at least ONE MINUTE for the associated equipment to cool. Start the timer when you locate the popped breaker, not when you think the failure occurred.
2. After a minute, reset the breaker by pushing it in or, in the case of a switch-type breaker, turning the switch back on. (Note: if you find a switch-type CB OFF after you thought you had turned it on, treat it like an overheat, not just a forgotten checklist item—give it time to cool).
3. If the breaker remains reset, assume the fault was transitory and continue flight. Watch for recurrences and bring any repeats to your mechanic’s attention.
4. If the breaker pops a second time, suspect a potential fire. DO NOT RESET the breaker a second time; do without the associated equipment and take it to a mechanic.
5. NEVER hold a breaker in or otherwise force it to stay in contact.

Aero-Tip of the day: Sometimes we forget circuit breakers are there to prevent fires in the cockpit. Check breakers closely; reset them deliberately and with caution.

FMI: Aero-Tips