How a 50-year-old design came back to haunt Boeing with its troubled 737 Max jet
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A set of stairs may have never caused so much trouble in an aircraft.
First introduced in West Germany as a short-hop commuter jet in the early Cold War, the Boeing 737-100 had folding metal stairs attached to the fuselage that passengers climbed to board before airports had jetways. Ground crews hand-lifted heavy luggage into the cargo holds in those days, long before motorized belt loaders were widely available.
That low-to-the-ground design was a plus in 1968, but it has proved to be a constraint that engineers modernizing the 737 have had to work around ever since. The compromises required to push forward a more fuel-efficient version of the plane — with larger engines and altered aerodynamics — led to the complex flight control software system that is now under investigation in two fatal crashes over the last five months.
Yes, it's that simple. In order to properly raise the plane's ground clearance with new landing gear the wings and fuselage would have to be completely redesigned, something Boeing has stubbornly resisted for 5 decades.
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Better get this straightened out quickly......
Excellent article SP. Thanks.
I don't know if we'll ever get the full story... but this beginning really, reall stinks!
Good find, SP.
the new extra large engines,
needed to be angled slightly toward the nose to avoid too much "thrust hitting the fuselage and tail,
have about 17 inches of clearance from the runway
which increases the risk of FOD to a level of stupidity,
in my humble opinion.
FAA approved...
and certified...
Interesting complement:
Also a good article.
Great find SP....Looks like the shit may indeed hit the fan.
Hi SP,
Read your article a little earlier in the day, and then shared with the hubby. Really interesting how one thing leads to another (should I post a music video... OK, since you asked...
Anyway, talk about unforeseen outcomes. Yikes! Kind of doing tech on this site, but without the deadly results. And that is the thing about tech, as I have found out the hard way ( and gained a good understand from Tig), is that even in the best testing conditions, there is no way to know for sure that there isn't one little gremlin in the works..
Did you say what is a gremlin?
Well this is what they are known for:
And here is one caught in the act:
You never want that on a plane. Just ask William Shatner
But all kidding aside, it is shocking that Boeing didn't see this just knowing that programs can fail.
I loved Twilight Zone and William Schatner was in several. He did a great job on those episodes.
Me too. I loved the one in the diner also. I think it was called "Nick of Time". He was also in the Outer Limits and Judgement at Neurenberg.
And of course Star Trek!
It may already be headed south:
U.S. Transportation Dept probes FAA approval of 737 MAX: WSJ
According to friends who fly the Boeing "heavies" 747 and up, the FAA allows Boeing to pick a team of elite engineers to certify Boeing's own planes. So they are essentially Boeing employees on the Boeing payroll do the FAAs job.
This is verified by several articles this week which blame past and present cutbacks to the FAA budgetary woes.
Boeing will be paying out large settlements over this boondoggle.
There's been nothing from Airbus, but.............
Interesting that at least part of the issue with Boeing is that the new larger engines on the 737 are almost "too powerful", hence the MCAS overrides.
Exacerbating the issues for Boeing are Rolls Royce engines in the 787 which have a turbo fan failure issue as described here, while at the same time Airbus is having such problems with Pratt & Whitney GTF engines that a hundred engineless planes are sitting finished at factories.
Meanwhile the smaller LEAP engine which powers the rest of the Airbus A320s and the Boeing 737 Max planes are 6 months behind.
BIG problems for both companies
which no doubt contributed to rushing the MCAS certification without sufficient testing or training.
Better and better ...
I think you may be right about that.
If divorces don't count,
I have been accused of being right almost all of the time, except for the time I thought I was wrong, when after a few days, it turned out that I was indeed right.
I went to a school exactly like Covington for Catholic boys whose parents worked 2 jobs so they could afford to send their
sons with big brains to a name brand school which automatically made them legacy students for the affiliated College/University
which also agreed to seal all of our grades for grades 9 through 16 ( without a threat from any outside council, but to protect their own reputation)
and bury the incident where a teacher tried to smack the smirk off my face for reasons I cannot discuss, but the whole student body was impressed and cheered me on...