ITEM ToolKit Critical to Xi'an Aircraft
Building Maintainability into the MA-60
Utilizing ITEM ToolKitT, Xi'an Aircraft Company has designed and built a short to medium range aircraft known as the MA60 (Modem Ark 60). As a systems integrator Xi'an selected vendors with a proven reliability track record. From the engines to avionics, vendors were first identified and then the list was pared down to suppliers that offered the highest degree of reliability and maintainability. Using the Reliability Block Diagram Module, systems were broken down into their sub components and the analysis was rolled up to predict the overall aircraft reliability. In critical areas where sub system reliability is high, redundancy was built in and demonstrated using ITEM ToolKitT.
Due to the high dispatch requirements, maintainability was also a critical factor in the design. Procedures, tools and access panel necessities were identified using the MainTainT module in ITEM ToolKitT. Maintenance procedures, mean time to repair (MTTR) and tools required for the task were calculated or identified.
Where routine maintenance was needed, sufficient access doors are available such as in the avionics equipment, hydraulic and air conditioning system bays.
As ITEM ToolKitT had predicted; the MA-60 has proven to be an inherently reliable aircraft with a low level of maintenance.
About Xi'an Industry Group
Xi'an Aircraft Industry Group is the leading Chinese company in aircraft design and manufacturing. Since 2001, ITEM ToolKitT has been used to perform reliability, safety, and maintainability analyses for all systems of the MA60 aircraft.
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