Air‐line Engineering Management

THE section whose efficiency should be least affected by the requirements of over‐suitability is the well‐established factory for the repair and overhaul of replaceable units, and this consideration adds much weight to arguments expressing the desirability of such unit parts for aircraft. The losses due to over‐suitability in this work can be considerably reduced by budgetary control, good planning and adequate spares, and at the same time the losses in other departments due to over‐suitability within themselves may be reduced by the reduction of the work required from them, and by far the most productive efforts to this end are those directed to the pursuance of the practices of absolute interchangeability of units. There is at the present time a movement towards this ideal, but the movement is slow and much remains to be done. In specifications and aircraft designs this ideal should be sought, and it will not be reached until every unit subject to wear and tear is a quickly detachable, easily replaceable unit, and absolute interchangeability is not achieved until the carrying out of such a replacement entails no more work on the aircraft than is required by the simple detachment and replacement of the unit.