Airworthiness

Airworthiness

• Why Aircraft Radome repairs should be of the highest standards to upkeep the airworthiness? How a small paint patch repair can hinder weather radar functions?
•  A radome is a Fairing whose primary purpose is to protect a radar antenna from various elements.
•  Physically, a radome should be strong enough to withstand the air loads & produce minimum drag.
•  Electrically, a radome should permit the passage of the transmitted signals & return echoes with least distortion & absorption.
•  The electrical thickness of a radome is related to the physical thickness, operating frequency & material types.
•  All repairs to radomes, no matter how minor (including paint repairs), should attain original or approved condition, both electrically & structurally.
• Major repairs on radome require testing to ascertain Non-impairment of electrical properties.
• Even the minor repairs may affect radomes as below.

 Transmissivity.

• Which is the ability of a radome to pass radar energy through it.

 Reflection.

• Which is the return or reflection of the outgoing radar energy from the radome back into the antenna & waveguide system.

 Diffraction.

• Which is the bending of the radar energy as it passes through the radome.