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Automated Floor Drilling Equipment (AFDE) have been used at Boeing for drilling floor panel, galley, lavatory and other holes in Boeing planes. New controller and drill spindle designs made it possible to redesign the AFDE as a self-contained unit with on-board CNC, custom operator interface, RF network and more compact drill spindles for increased robustness and versatility.

As a fleet of aircraft builds more and more experience in the real operational environment, the data flowing from that experience can contribute significantly to: (a) better forecasts of future maintenance needs and costs, (b) better focus of the inspection and maintenance efforts, (c) special new equipment/techniques to reduce costs in specific cases, (d) high confidence in continued safe operation. Several extensions of historical approaches have been developed to support the early models of the jet fleet. The general characteristics of these techniques and their potential economic contributions are discussed.