Okay, so I was messing around in the Apple store today and just had to take this shot. No iPad for me today. My bank account breathes a sigh of relief. Do I think this will change how this site is run? You bet I do.
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.
The stars look to be aligning for Bombardier to net a CSeries order with a Chinese airline customer. The dots are beginning to bleed together. Two weeks ago, Bombardier CEO Pierre Beaudoin said he expected orders from both China and Qatar this year, setting the stage for an expansion of the new narrowbody’s orderbook.
***P&W says that the fan blades on the GTF are more bird strike resistant because they spin slower as enabled by the gear assembly, resulting in a lower total kinetic energy in the collision.
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.
On Sunday afternoon a JetBlue Airbus A320 (N646JB) departed JFK for Long Beach. The aircraft later returned to JFK after the airline announced that the aircraft had hit birds on climb out. That was later updated to hail, and later again diagnosing the cause of the early return as a tail strike on departure from runway 22R.
Sometime between the announcement of birds and the tail strike, the hail was the official story and it reminded me something Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO, Jim Albaugh, said during the media roundtable two weeks ago week. He mentioned that composites scaled up much better than they scaled down. I asked why that was and if it was related to the pace of manufacturing. I was surprised to find out it had more to do with hail and other impacts. Here’s his reply:
It’s really not the ability to build. Composites are very strong, and we have sized the composite wing of the 787 to have the strength necessary to lift the airplane, but also resist impact – hail, mechanical impacts – start scaling it down and you have to have the same thickness for a smaller airplane that you have on a bigger airplane, not because of the stresses caused by lift, its really the impact of hail, equipment impacting the wings, you really don’t get the efficiency scaling down right now, you get the efficiency scaling up.
In a high cycle environment where the aircraft is on the ground more frequently during the day being serviced, loaded and unloaded for flight, the chances of ground service equipment hitting the airframe goes up. It sheds some interesting light about the challenges for designing the future narrowbody replacements.
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.
On Tuesday morning, I’ll start a two day visit to Pratt & Whitney in Hartford, Connecticut. The first day is a day-long course on engine technology called Engines 101. The course is a primer on engine technology and the underlying fundamentals of powering aircraft, rotorcraft and spacecraft. One way to learn more about how engines work is to learn about what happens when they don’t. This week’s Movie Monday, Turbofan Jet Engine Failure Recognition, takes a close look the conditions and pilot response to troublesome engines. The training film runs 20min. Enjoy!
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.
Boeing has completed the 150% ultimate load test on the 787 static test airframe – ZY997 – inside the 40-23 Building of the company’s Everett factory, the company confirms.
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.
LAN Airlines has confirmed that it plans to accelerate delivery of its first 787 from 2014 to the second quarter of 2011.
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This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.
Boeing is investigating an unexpected buffet in the inboard flaps of the 747-8F, a design issue that may prompt a costly redesign and put significant pressure on the flight test schedule.
The buffet was first discovered following the first flight of the 747-8F on February 8th, when the aircraft extended its flaps to the maximum setting of 30 with the landing gear fully extended, say program sources.
Two independent program sources say landings with flaps set to 30 are being avoided until the issue is addressed.
Boeing confirmed the flaps 30 buffet, saying: “It is a discovery we are addressing. We expect to have discoveries during the tests and we then address them in due course. This is the nature of testing. It is the fundamental reason why we conduct a thorough flight-test program. You find issues and resolve them.”
The buffet, which has been described as “very apparent”, has been traced to disruptive air flow coming off of the outboard landing gear doors.
Boeing ruled out a problem unique to RC501, the first 747-8F, as the same flap buffet was duplicated on RC522’s March 15th first flight.
The second 747-8F test aircraft, RC521- the third to fly – made its maiden flight on March 17th.
The flaps on the 747-8F are one of the major aerodynamic changes incorporated into the latest version of Boeing’s jumbo jet, with the outboard flaps single-slotted and inboard double-slotted.
By comparison, says one program source, the 747-400’s flaps were triple-slotted allowing turbulent air to pass through; however, the single and double-slotted flaps provide “a lot more surface to cause a turbulent layer to form”.
Unexpected structural buffet on aircraft surfaces can be common during flight testing, though the solution may vary from vortex generators to redirect the airflow or even a complete re-design of the disruptive part.
During the 777’s flight test program in 1994, Boeing found the 777 discovered the aircraft’s nose landing gear doors buffeted wildly when opening and closing at speed, prompting the installation of metal baffles in the nose landing gear well to redirect the airflow.
Boeing has devoted one of the three 747-8F test aircraft to addressing the flap buffet.
On March 22nd Boeing began flying RC522 with the outboard landing gear doors removed to assess the impact at the flaps 30 setting. The early flight tests confirmed that the source of the buffet was disruptive air flow from the landing gear doors. On March 23rd, RC522 flew with the upper portion of the outboard gear door re-attached.
Boeing is considering several solutions to the problem. One option involves reducing the flap extension to from 30 to 27. However, decreasing the maximum flap setting could raise the landing speed of the 747-8.
The airframer has ruled out installing vortex generators on the inboard flaps to redirect the airflow, program sources say. The over-wing emergency escape slides on the 747-8I passenger variant could tear on the vortex generators.
The final impact of the 747-8F flap buffet is yet unclear. Sources say that without a final low-speed configuration, the aircraft cannot conduct community noise evaluations.
While RC522 is assigned to resolve the flaps 30 buffet, RC501 conducted variable center of gravity stalls. RC521 remains in post-first flight layup at Boeing Field.
Boeing is targeting the fourth quarter for certification and first delivery of the 747-8F to Luxembourg-based Cargolux, following a 1,600h flight test period and 2,100h of ground testing.
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This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.
UPDATE 5:36 PM ET: Boeing confirms that the ultimate load test is scheduled for Sunday, March 28th in the 40-23 Building of the Everett Factory. The company says that “testing is dynamic” and that March 28th date could change, adding that “We are not currently planning on breaking the wing.”
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.
