Each day, millions of passengers worldwide board flights that span the entire globe. With thousands of aircraft racking up countless hours of flight, there is invariably the constant need for repair, maintenance, and new parts. Because of this, the aircraft parts market is in constant movement with an overflow of requests. What follows is a rundown of the ten most commonly purchased aircraft spare parts and a brief explanation of each.

Aircraft tires are paramount to the functionality of an aircraft through bearing their weight, aiding with braking, absorbing shock from landings, and allowing for taxiing through the airstrip. Due to this, aircraft tires undergo meticulous maintenance, overhaul, and repair during their lifetime. They are also manufactured with high standards to endure the pressures they are subjected to. Aircraft tires may be tube-type or tubeless, and are further classified by factors such as type, ply rating, and whether they are bias ply tires or radials.

Technical Standard Order (TSO), is a minimum performance standard that is set out by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for aircraft appliances and equipment for use on civil aircraft. The FAA can approve TSO authorization for manufacturers regarding specific components. This means that the manufacturer is authorized to manufacture TSO standard materials, aviation parts, and appliances. This does not, however, give them approval to be able to install the piece on an aircraft.

Operating aircraft batteries outside their ambient temperature or charging voltage limits can result in excessive cell temperatures, leading to electrolyte boiling, rapid deterioration of the cells, and battery failure. The relationship between maximum charging voltage and the number of cells is also important, as this determines the rate at which energy is absorbed as heat within the battery. For lead-acid batteries, the voltage per cell must not exceed 2.35 volts, while NiCd batteries usually have 1.4 and 1.5 volts.

As commercial aircraft have gotten larger and heavier, their landing speeds have gotten higher and higher as well. This has made bringing aircraft to a stop more difficult, as these aircraft require longer and longer landing strips. In many cases, brakes can no longer be solely relied upon to slow the aircraft. Therefore, many commercial aircraft now use thrust reversers. Thrust reversers, as their name implies, reverses the thrust generated by the engines to slow the aircraft. Thrust reversers come in two categories: mechanical blockage, and aerodynamic blockage.

Just as you rely your car to start when you are running late to work, a pilot relies on the aircraft start to avoid costly delays. Turbine engine ignition systems live up to their namesake - they are used in the startup cycle to ignite the fuel in the engine of the aircraft. Unlike other ignition systems such as reciprocating engine ignition systems, turbine engine ignition systems are turned off for the remainder of the flight.

Given that we see car tires blow out on the freeway pretty often, it’s a wonder why we don’t see the same thing happening with aircraft tires. With how much weight they support on landing, and the fact the aircraft is flying at about 170 mph, this is an amazing feat. The tires are designed to support about a 38-ton load, and this is accomplished primarily through the amount of pressure they contain. Because of the tire material and pressure, they have incredible strength and endurance. They can land 500 times before needing a retread, and they can be retreaded about seven times before needing to be completely replaced.

Every airport in the world, despite their very different layouts, uses the same basic signage to direct planes to and from the terminals. And that’s because taxiing a plane is significantly more difficult than piloting a plane.

Various factors need to be taken into consideration when designing an aircraft, the most important being its function. For example, the demands of a commercial jet and a military fighter jet are completely different, resulting in various different requirements, which in turn result in different degrees of complexity in design and composition. A wide range of materials may be used in the design of an aircraft, each with their own strength, elasticity, density, and corrosion resistance ratings.