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Adding Smart Connectors using reflectometry for in flight monitoring aging aircraft wiring may be unnecessary. Such costly and potentially unreliable systems can be replaced by in-flight monitoring of wiring and other flight critical with a much simpler, more reliable, and less costly fiber sensor technology funded by the US Navy.

The fibers are non-conducting and intrinisically safe. Aircraft with the technology at known areas of concern such as the MD80 wheel well wiring could be flying in as little as a year.

I will present the technology on April 23 at the 2008 Aging Aircraft Conference in Phoenix. I will present how inexpensive tapes with embedded lightweight sensitized optical fibers can be used to provide an early warning of damage and deterioration of aircraft wiring.

Most stresses that harm aircraft wiring can be addressed by the fiber technology, such as deterioration of insulation, corroding of connectors, overheating and arc-tracking. Such problems left unattended are well documented causes of dangerous smoke and fires. The technology acts as a "canary in a mine" sensing damage that leads to open and short circuits that cause loss of control, wheels and other flight critical systems.

If in-flight monitoring is needed, Management Sciences, Inc has developed a "Smart Connector" with embedded processing and electronics that continuously inspects the fibers, assessing stress and diagnosing damage by electrical overloads, clamps, sharp structures, before they damage the wiring.

As an alternative to in-flight monitoring, the inexpensive tapes of sensitized fibers can be stuck onto wiring harnesses at known to cause problems such as the wiring bundle in the MD80 wheel well. On the ground the degree of damage happening to the fibers can be periodically inspected at an MRO or depot with an inexpensive hand held computer or PDA.

The tapes made with sensitized fibers can also be used to monitor for aircraft structural cracks, leaking pipelines, and other safety and environmental risks.