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This System uses two very powerful Search Engines: The Web Site Word or Phrase Search Engine is a customized Server Search System using all the standard Search Rules to find any string; "string" in this case is a technical computer term meaning a series of ASCII characters with or without spaces. e.g. "1234" or "abcd" or "the black cat" or "ASB JT8D A6430". We have changed the meaning and use of the "word separators"; space, -, /, etc. in order to easily find Part Numbers and Service Bulletins and as a result have lost the ability to do "wildcard" or "masked" searches. This Search System requires Whole
Words; i.e. Space-to-Space or Space-to-Punctuation. You can search for an exact phrase by enclosing the
Search Term in quotes; e.g. "fuel pump". The Web Site Word or Phrase Search Engine will
operate on 8 categories of data; And, can handle all common document formats; DOC, RTF, TXT, PDF, etc. It cannot see data contained in a graphic image embedded in a document. In addition to the foregoing, it will search a dynamically built list of ADs. If you do an AD Search on a Boeing 747 that results in a list of 500 ADs, you can then search only those ADs for any word or phrase. See Search Techniques at the end of this page. The Part Number Database Search Engine is a
totally different animal. It was specifically designed to
solve several common problems faced by Repair Stations. Our
primary product and service is The Aviation DataBase®,
an Internet based Aviation Regulatory Library. All
Regulatory Libraries are designed from the point of view of
Aircraft Maintenance; which typically means that you have
the Aircraft (Engine or Propeller) in front of you. In the
early 90s we invented the indexing system that is now used
by all computer based AD Search Systems. The technique is
relatively simple; It's a "Drill Down" method that starts by
asking the question: Is the Aircraft Large or Small (above
or below 12,500 lbs)? Then we ask for the Make, then the
Model and finally the Dash Number. The problem is that Aircraft Mechanics, IAs and DARs are not the only ones who need to do an AD search. Certified Repair Stations are required to comply with all relevant ADs before a part or component is returned to service or to available inventory. At a Repair Station, which is frequently not even on an airport, only the part or component is in hand and they may not know what aircraft it came from or what aircraft it will be used on next. They do know the Make and Model of the part or component and the Part Number. So, the solution would seem to be simple; use our Web Site Word or Phrase Search Engine to search all the ADs for the Part Number in question…….. That works and it works really well as long as the Part Number is a discrete string in the AD document. The issue here is that you can't have a system that works most of the time. Now is the time to tell you that there is no such thing as a perfect search system, however, our Part Number Database Search Engine now comes closer than anything that is currently available -- anywhere! We now have over 15,000 ADs that have been issued over the past 67 years. That body of data contains inconsistencies and errors that reflect a government bureaucracy with hundreds, if not thousands, of people involved in issuing ADs over more than 6 decades. Now suppose your Part Number is "BF-14578-14", and AD
says that it applies to P/Ns; The next example is; the AD says that it applies to
"BF-14578-( )". What does that mean? In most cases, A real example: "fuel tank boost pumps having part
numbers 258000-2, -3, and -5, or 382300-1, -2, and -3." It gets worse: The AD says that it applies to all of the
P/Ns listed in Service Bulletin SEB92-3 Revision 2. To address most of these issues, we have searched the ADs with two types of Search Engines, not for Part Numbers, but for any reference to Part Numbers and then read the AD and created a record in a Server Database for each Part Number found in the AD. That record contains, not only the Part Number, but the AD in which it is referenced, the Manufacturer's name and the Part Name. The Server Database now allows us to do "masked" searches for any combination of Manufacturer's Name, Part Name or Part Number.
The Part Number Database Search Engine uses a
search method that allows for "masked" searches. By that we
mean that each data element can be searched for as "Exact
Match"; look for "1234" and the result shows only "1234" and
not "01234" or "12345" or for "Starts with"; look for "1234"
and the result will show "1234", "12345", "12345AB", etc. or
"Contains"; look for "1234" and the result will show
"AB1234", "1234", "01234567", etc. To do a search for P/N "BF-14578-14", you would think that the best technique would be to enter "BF-14578-14" in the search box. That is not always the case; the Part Numbers are not always cited with the same format. You could have "BF-14578-14", "BF 14578 14" or "BF/14578/14" or "BF-14578-( ), etc. So, the best way to start, is to use the shortest string that you think might be somewhat unique, e.g. "14578" and select "Contains" and see what you get. If the result list is short, you are done. If the result list is long (we deliver up to 1,000 hits), and you know that the part is manufactured by Bell Helicopter, then you would enter "14578" for the Part No. and select "Contains" and "Bell" for the Mfg Name and select "Starts with". You would not use "Bell Helicopter" or "Bell Helicopter Textron" or "Bell Helicopter Textron Canada" since that would miss all of the ADs where the manufacturer is just shown as "Bell". Since you are looking for ADs, there are very few situations where you might use the AD entry box. Therefore, you will almost always be entering data in the Mfg Name, Part Name or Part No. boxes. The best way to start is to always use the least amount of data and, if in doubt about the position, use "Contains". If the result is too large, narrow the search by being more specific with the search criteria. |