Progress in applications of electrical engineering to air transportation

APPLICATIONS of electrical engineering to air transportation encompass almost all the various phases of electrical engineering: lighting, communications, electronics, rotating machinery, switch-gear, batteries, and so forth. The modern aircraft may have as many as 400 separate pieces of electric equipment, adding up to over 100 kilowatts of installed load; and may have three or four separate electric systems, with over 10 miles of feeder, distribution, and control wiring. The airplane of today is almost completely dependent on the electric power supply and is not capable of performing any mission without it. In most cases, a safe return to base, or any safe landing at all, is not possible without a fully functioning electric system.