AMT Airframe Structures Questions and Answers

Question 1

In a semi-monocoque fuselage, what is the primary function of longitudinal members such as longerons and stringers?

Accepted Answer

To absorb and transmit bending, tensile, and compressive stresses.

Answer

To provide the cross-sectional shape of the fuselage.

Answer

To act as the main attachment points for the wings and empennage.

Answer

To transfer shear stresses from the skin to the wing spars.

Question 2

A technician performing a detailed visual inspection on an aluminum aircraft skin notices a fine, dark, sooty line trailing back from a rivet head. What is this condition commonly called, and what does it indicate?

Accepted Answer

Smoking rivet, indicating movement and fretting of a loose rivet.

Answer

Galvanic corrosion, indicating an incompatibility between the rivet and skin materials.

Answer

Filiform corrosion, indicating a breakdown of the paint coating.

Answer

Rivet rash, indicating an over-driven rivet during installation.

Question 3

Which of the following structural components is primarily responsible for giving a wing its aerodynamic shape (airfoil) and transferring loads from the skin to the spars?

Accepted Answer

Ribs

Answer

Longerons

Answer

Stringers

Answer

Bulkheads

Question 4

An aircraft structural design philosophy that relies on redundancy, where the failure of a single structural element will not cause catastrophic failure of the entire structure, is known as:

Accepted Answer

Fail-safe

Answer

Safe-life

Answer

Damage tolerant

Answer

Single-path structure

Question 5

During an inspection of a composite honeycomb panel, a technician uses the coin tap test method and hears a dull thud or dead sound in a specific area, compared to the clear, ringing sound elsewhere on the panel. This change in sound most likely indicates what type of defect?

Accepted Answer

A delamination or disbond between the skin and the core

Answer

A crushed core

Answer

Water ingress in the honeycomb cells

Answer

A properly bonded and structurally sound area

Question 6

What is the primary purpose of formers and bulkheads in a fuselage structure?

Accepted Answer

To provide the cross-sectional shape and to which stringers and skin are attached.

Answer

To carry the primary bending loads along the length of the fuselage.

Answer

To provide attachment points for the engines only.

Answer

To serve as the primary structure for absorbing landing gear impact.