Client: Herbert Aircraft Service, Inc.

Aircraft fuel hose assemblies have complex and highly toleranced geometry, snaking their way between tightly-packed components wherever the designers can secure space. The FAA’s testing requirements require that any hose manufacturer demonstrate a method of verifying that each hose will fit in that restrictive envelope without twisting or stress.

Creative was tasked with creating a set of modular, easily-replicated fabrication/test fixtures for HAS’s aftermarket hoses, facilitating correct assembly of the complex shapes and satisfying the FAA testing requirements without building large, costly, one-off structures for each hose.

After building accurate CAD models of each completed hose assembly for reference, we created sets of towers with a universal mounting base, allowing accurate mounting on an optical breadboard plate. Each tower is topped with a pair of aluminum plates in a “fork,” easily machined on a mill and closely fitting each desired hose profile. Setup and breakdown is quick and efficient, allowing fabricators & inspectors to switch between different hose configurations in a matter of minutes while maintaining the rigor required by FAA regulations.