It's an entirely different kind of flying, altogether.

(Written on 29-08-2019)(Permalink)

With respect, the comparison and video are shallow and misleading. Indeed, the McDonnell Douglas mindset was similar to the Boeing mindset in 2011. The similarity was a race to market against a competitor and at any cost. McDonnell himself, obsessed with cost overruns, issued the edict that they were unacceptable "even at the cost of safety." The DC-10 was rushed to market ostensibly as an enlarged DC-8. Yes, the cargo door issue was primary. However, there was also insufficient venting between the pax cabin and cargo hold in the event of a blowout, resulting in the collapse of the cabin floor and severing of control cables contained therein. The MAX is a different animal. Boeing, over the objections of its engineers, insisted on an aerodynamically-unstable design they insisted could be addressed - as with a fighter jet - by software. As MCAS developed, however, the FAA lost two of it's most experienced lead engineers at the Seattle office who'd have overseen testing. I su

(Written on 05-08-2019)(Permalink)

With all due respect, Mr. Zhang is a business writer, not an aviation writer. The points he makes have more to do with the natural evolution of commercial aviation, ETOPS in particular, rather than anything that upended the industry. Nor do some of the points he makes, such as lie-flat seats, have anything to do with the aircraft in question. In many respects this is a fluff piece, filling space with lots and lots of pretty pictures for lack of substance. For upending an industry, imo, the 747 still maintains that distinction. Double aisles and high bypass turbofans are just the start. Nothing like that had existed previously. Bill Allen knew full well that his commitment to Juan Trippe could bankrupt Boeing. I don't think it's a stretch to characterize this as commercial aviation's equivalent to the moon shot. Nor could any discussion of upending ignore the massive infrastructure adjustment necessary on the ground. Finally, I'll point out the 747's long, flexible history

(Written on 18-06-2018)(Permalink)

Good points, particularly on potential launch customers. But I think "too late" may be relative, particularly for government-backed entities and considering expected growth in the Chinese market as the A339s reach the end of their service life. Long term, could they be trying to extricate themselves from reliance on western manufacturers? GE and Rolls are mentioned for the power plants, ostensibly for their products' worldwide serviceability (despite Rolls' current problems servicing the Trent). I was interested that the higher density layout was mentioned. I wonder if, despite CRIAC's press and considering the aircraft's increasing preliminary size/weight estimates would tax western offerings, if they're ultimately looking to limit its utilization to the Sino-Russian sphere of influence where "worldwide support" would become irrelevant. I'll be interested to see what direction any CRIAC partners take to develop their own engines for the CR929, perhaps sacrificing range for de

(Written on 30-05-2018)(Permalink)

Probably wouldn't make a difference to anyone as long as the folks up front are qualified, period, as you said. However, I'd bet most of us had role models growing up. I think their message is not so much aimed at old white guys like me, but to young girls of color. Their encouraging message is that, "Yeah, you can do this, too."

(Written on 20-05-2018)(Permalink)

With all due respect to this family's unfortunate circumstances, this doesn't smell right. It sounds like a combination of bad planning - they'd done this trip previously - and simply not paying attention to the flight's status. By some miracle, the rest of the pax were able to board and settle themselves in a timely manner. I'm not buying this family's story.

(Written on 17-03-2018)(Permalink)

Thx...and had exactly the same thought when I read the headline. Then I dug into some of their points on composites.

(Written on 12-03-2018)(Permalink)

http://babylonbee.com/news/archaeologists-uncover-jesuss-gulfstream-jet/

(Written on 22-01-2018)(Permalink)

Additional details: https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/turkish-747f-crashes-in-kyrgyzstan-433186/

(Written on 15-01-2017)(Permalink)

A few initial reports from BCAD here. Official ARFF response time, call to first foam was 90 seconds. Appx fuel on landing 40,000. FLL resumed south runway ops 1:10 after incident. Underwriters value of the a/c US$10.5M.

(Written on 31-10-2016)(Permalink)