10. Major Units and Systems in Aircraft

Airplanes are certainly a remarkable success of engineering. They are designed for operating in a formidable environment. Every aircraft is a compound of systems that are necessary to work safely and efficiently. All of these systems have particular features and they cannot function independently. They rely on all the other aircraft systems in order to operate properly while ensuring flight safety. Depending on the functionality, some of the systems carry high sensitivity while others may not. For example, when it is compared with auxiliary power unit (APU), the in-flight entertainment system may have a relatively lower hazardous risk impact. Some aircraft units have crucial impacts on aircraft functionality. They are called major components in general. This chapter is intended to provide information about major components such as the APU, environmental control system (ECS), flight data recorder (FDR), cockpit voice recorder (CVR), and Auto-pilot system. They were meticulously selected by the author’s many years of field experience in the aviation industry initially as a senior engineer, then a pilot, and eventually an academician who concentrates on airworthy part manufacturing. Each of them has crucial importance over ensuring a safe flight while maintaining cost-effectivity. Obviously, in the open literature, it is possible to encounter the resources that provide information about the mentioned major systems. Some resources provide information about one system while others do not. This chapter differs from such open resources as it is solely written for providing information about APU, ECS, FDR, CVR, and auto-pilot system. Hopefully, it will give the reader a great sense for reaching the required information about these crucial aircraft systems.