Mathematics and Physics for Aircraft Maintenance

Maintenance arithmetic is applied constantly: rivet spacing and edge distances, torque values, gear and pulley ratios, compression ratios, load factors and weight-and-balance moments. Convert between fractions, decimals and percentages, keep units consistent, and sanity-check magnitudes — an answer out by a factor of ten is a scrapped part.

Algebra is mostly formula transposition. Ohm’s law V = I × R rearranges to I = V ÷ R or R = V ÷ I. Geometry gives the area of a patch and the displacement of a cylinder as π × r² × stroke. Basic trigonometry resolves forces on an angled strut or gear leg.

Energy takes many forms — kinetic, potential, heat, chemical, electrical and pressure. Work is force multiplied by distance; power is the rate of doing work, measured in watts or horsepower, where one horsepower is 550 foot-pounds per second. Newton’s third law explains propulsion and braking; friction both helps (brakes, tyre grip) and harms (wear, heat).

Gases obey simple laws: pressure rises when a gas is squeezed (Boyle’s), and pressure or volume rises when a gas is heated (Charles’s), which is why tyre and strut pressures are corrected for temperature. In fluids, pressure acts equally in all directions (Pascal’s law, the basis of hydraulics) and fast-moving air carries lower pressure (Bernoulli’s principle).