What To Look For When Purchasing Airframe Bolts

The airframes of aircraft are assembled and held together with the help of different types of fasteners. When building an aircraft, it is very important to choose the correct bolts, as they are responsible for holding the entire airframe together and a lot is at stake. Bolts fasteners that are designed for holding two or more parts together. In this blog, we will discuss what should be taken into consideration while choosing the right bolts.

1. Drilled Shanks

While looking for bolts, it is important to check if they have drilled shanks. Shanks will generally have small holes at the bottom, and they can be used to support a pin. Oftentimes, cotter pins are used alongside airframe bolts that have a drilled shank. Cotter pins aid in securing the airframe bolt which gives an added layer of safety to the airplane. After the airframe bolt has been installed, cotter pins can be slid through the drilled holes.

2. Head Styles

The head style of the fastener is also an important factor to consider when looking for the best bolts for your airframe. The type of tool required for installing a particular airframe bolt is decided according to its head style. However, most companies go for hexagonal head styles which do not have a recess and feature a six-sided head.

3. Thread Types

Airframe bolts have two types of threading, those of which are partially-threaded and fully threaded variations. Fully-threaded shanks are more commonly used than partially-threaded ones. However, there are some bolts that do not have a thread covering their shank. There are many sections of airframes, like wings, undercarriages, fuselages, and empennages, and all these components are successfully held together by airframe bolts.

4. Thread Standards

Thread standards help in determining the spacing and design of a particular. There are multiple thread standards present in the market, like the American National Fine, American National Coarse, and American Standard Unified Fine standard. There are slight, subtle differences between all these thread standards, so it is important that the correct one is chosen.

5. Bolt Materials

The material of the carriage bolt is one of the most important factors to consider while buying such components. Usually, all kinds of airframe bolts are strong enough to be used in airplanes. While some are made of stainless steel, others are made up of high-carbon steel. Airframe bolts are also available in materials like aluminum alloy and titanium.

Conclusion

Plane Parts 360 is a leading parts distributor offering parts within the marine, commercial, and aerospace industries. Our goal is to simplify the parts purchasing process for our customers for which we have built a multifaceted platform. Using our search engine, customers can look for parts by NSN, part number, CAGE code, and more. If you are searching for airframe support or any other aircraft parts, feel free to reach out to our team and see how we can help you with your parts purchasing process.

1. mark bogart
2. Posted on April 26, 2022
aviation part types