Modern aircraft are behemoths, responsible for transporting hundreds of people or thousands of pounds of cargo high in the air across the world each flight, so it only makes sense that these planes need a vast support system to be able to do their job and the ground power unit is a vital piece of this network. These units are the pieces of equipment that will allow your plane to have power and take off effectively, so keep reading to find out all the things it can do.
- Main functions
The main use of a hydraulic power unit in the field of aviation is that they provides a source of hydraulic energy, which is something that no plane in the world can function without. Planes need to be controlled accurately, and hydraulic fluid and pressure systems are the keys to making that happen since they allow pilots to be able to lower and raise the landing gear and change the angle of the plane’s wings, allowing for the ascent, descent, and changes in direction. Without this power being present, pilots would have no control over the plane, and the landing gear would not be able to support the weight of the plane and all the passengers on board.
- Their source of power
Hydraulic units are massive and take up a lot of energy. They’re part of a bigger family of ground power units, which are pieces of equipment that are found on the ground right before lift-off, which means that these units need an alternative source of energy to be able to load the plane up with hydraulic fluid and power all of the different systems in the plane, and that comes in the form of energy produced by the plane’s engines. The engines have a variety of jobs, but, in this case, they’re responsible for these units, as well as other ground units, to do their job wherever the plane is, even if it’s far from the nearest power source.
- Adaptations of the hydraulic fluid
Hydraulic fluid is used in machines and factories worldwide. Wherever it’s found, its basic use remains the same: it distributes pressure equally from one plate to another, allowing you to produce a much higher force than the force you put in. However, the hydraulic fluid that’s present in planes is adapted for this specific use, and this is done by adding some solutes and other materials that make the fluid resistant to wear and tear and, especially in extremely hot and cold climates, which are the kind of climates plane compartments often face.
- Redundancy
Redundancy is an important concept in the field of aviation since planes need to be as safe as possible if you want to reduce the risk of accidents and passenger mortality, and that’s one way safety is improved. When professionals fill their planes with hydraulic fluid, they’re typically using an excess of hydraulic units on the ground and ensuring their planes have more than enough fluid present in them, and this is all to ensure that there’s a contingency in place for fluid that’s leaking or seems to be less than it should be.
- How to maintain and inspect these units
Knowing how to inspect and maintain the units you have on hand can be half the battle since, in the right hands, cheaper units can still go very far and give you plenty of benefits. The fluid you put into each unit should be one of premium quality, both for the health of the plane and the health of the unit, since it can preserve the network of pipes and fluid that are present in the unit itself. If you want to know whether a unit is damaged, it’s best to inspect these pipes and inlets to check for breakage or fluid that is leaking.
Conclusion
Hydraulic units are an indispensable part of the process of caring for and maintaining a plane in the long term, ensuring everything in the plane is topped up for an average flight, including energy, hydraulic fluid, and pressure systems for things like landing gear and the adjustable part of the wings. Now that you know what makes hydraulic units so important, it’ll be all the more important for you to get one that’s high quality and does everything you need it to.