Fatigue Life Estimation Program for Part 23 Airplanes, “AFS.FOR”

The purpose of this paper is to introduce to the general aviation industry a computer program which estimates the safe fatigue life of any Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 23 airplane. The algorithm uses the methodology (Miner's Linear Cumulative Damage Theory) and the various data presented in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Report No. AFS-120-73-2, dated May 1973 [1]. The program is written in FORTRAN 77 language and is executable on a desk top personal computer. The program prompts the user for the input data needed and provides a variety of options for its intended use. The program is envisaged to be released through issuance of a FAA report, which will contain the appropriate comments, instructions, warnings, and limitations.