A washer is a thin plate with a central hole used to distribute the pressure load between two attached surfaces. They are often used with nuts, bolts, or other fasteners to prevent them from being driven into the material of the surfaces to which they are affixed. General wear and tear from vibration and friction often causes standard threaded fasteners to loosen over time, but the lock washer is designed to resist this. This blog will explain how lock washers work, their types, and how to use them.

Aircraft engines create an immense amount of heat throughout their flight hours. High temperatures necessitate the presence of cooling instruments. An important member of these components is the cowl flap. Dare I reference the Star Wars prequels, an activated cowl flap resembles a mini version of the walkway extended from Padme’s J-type Star Skiff ship in the last scene of Revenge of the Sith. Though a cowl flap doesn’t sound as flashy, the lowering mechanism works almost identically, and is a valuable cooling component.