Are You Flying Airbus?

Post Reply
User avatar
Atheist-Lite
Formerly known as Crumple
Posts: 8745
Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2010 12:35 pm
About me: You need a jetpack? Here, take mine. I don't need a jetpack this far away.
Location: In the Galactic Hub, Yes That One !!!
Contact:

Are You Flying Airbus?

Post by Atheist-Lite » Sat Jan 21, 2012 10:11 am

You might be up there a long time if the wings fall off. :tup:

http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/onepe ... or-su.html

New cracks found on Airbus A380 jets

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) today ordered detailed inspections on the wings of the Airbus A380 jumbo jet after cracks were found in brackets that secure the wing's skin to the aircraft. "This condition, if not detected and corrected, could potentially affect the structural integrity of the aeroplane," the safety watchdog warns.


EASA says two types of cracks have been found in the L-shaped brackets, called rib feet, that join the A380's wing surface to the ribs whose profile defines the wing's cross sectional shape. The first type of rib foot crack was found when the aircraft damaged in last November's A380 engine-loss incident was being checked out after repairs.


But after subsequent checking of more of the fleet, engineers found a "more significant" form of cracking has developed on the rib feet of some of the aircraft. So EASA has ordered "detailed visual inspections" within the next six weeks for A380 aircraft that have flown between 1300 and 1799 takeoffs and landings - and within just four days for those with over 1800 flight cycles.


There's a good reason safety watchdogs take no chances with even the smallest of cracks: it was cracks caused by the then unknown phenomenon of metal fatigue that caused the fatal midflight breakups of the De Havilland Comet, the first world's pressurised, aluminium-skinned jetliner, in the 1950s. Tiny cracks around window portholes eventually propagated, bursting the fuselage, after a certain number of flight pressurisations and depressurisations.


While EASA has not said what might happen if A380 rib feet fail owing to cracking......

(continued)
nxnxm,cm,m,fvmf,vndfnm,nm,f,dvm,v v vmfm,vvm,d,dd vv sm,mvd,fmf,fn ,v fvfm,

User avatar
Gawdzilla Sama
Stabsobermaschinist
Posts: 151265
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 12:24 am
About me: My posts are related to the thread in the same way Gliese 651b is related to your mother's underwear drawer.
Location: Sitting next to Ayaan in Domus Draconis, and communicating via PMs.
Contact:

Re: Are You Flying Airbus?

Post by Gawdzilla Sama » Sat Jan 21, 2012 2:15 pm

No, me Flying Tank, tovarish.

(Kev? :hehe:)
Image
Ein Ubootsoldat wrote:“Ich melde mich ab. Grüssen Sie bitte meine Kameraden.”

User avatar
Svartalf
Offensive Grail Keeper
Posts: 41173
Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2010 12:42 pm
Location: Paris France
Contact:

Re: Are You Flying Airbus?

Post by Svartalf » Sat Jan 21, 2012 2:48 pm

People in the know, would that just be bad craftsmanship, or would it be a sign that those things are getting too big for their own structural integrity?
Embrace the Darkness, it needs a hug

PC stands for "Patronizing Cocksucker" Randy Ping

User avatar
klr
(%gibber(who=klr, what=Leprageek);)
Posts: 32964
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 1:25 pm
About me: The money was just resting in my account.
Location: Airstrip Two
Contact:

Re: Are You Flying Airbus?

Post by klr » Sat Jan 21, 2012 3:04 pm

Gawdzilla wrote:No, me Flying Tank, tovarish.

(Kev? :hehe:)
Just as you're not a back-seat passenger - much more dangerous there apparently. :nervous:

Image
God has no place within these walls, just like facts have no place within organized religion. - Superintendent Chalmers

It's not up to us to choose which laws we want to obey. If it were, I'd kill everyone who looked at me cock-eyed! - Rex Banner

The Bluebird of Happiness long absent from his life, Ned is visited by the Chicken of Depression. - Gary Larson

:mob: :comp: :mob:

User avatar
klr
(%gibber(who=klr, what=Leprageek);)
Posts: 32964
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 1:25 pm
About me: The money was just resting in my account.
Location: Airstrip Two
Contact:

Re: Are You Flying Airbus?

Post by klr » Sat Jan 21, 2012 3:07 pm

Svartalf wrote:People in the know, would that just be bad craftsmanship, or would it be a sign that those things are getting too big for their own structural integrity?
The A-380 is heavier than a late-model 747, but not much bigger in terms of dimensions. Bad workmanship and/or QC, or maybe the design skimped a bit on certain areas. The last is unlikely, because the initial design would tend to err on the side of conservatism when it comes to structural areas.
God has no place within these walls, just like facts have no place within organized religion. - Superintendent Chalmers

It's not up to us to choose which laws we want to obey. If it were, I'd kill everyone who looked at me cock-eyed! - Rex Banner

The Bluebird of Happiness long absent from his life, Ned is visited by the Chicken of Depression. - Gary Larson

:mob: :comp: :mob:

User avatar
Gawdzilla Sama
Stabsobermaschinist
Posts: 151265
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 12:24 am
About me: My posts are related to the thread in the same way Gliese 651b is related to your mother's underwear drawer.
Location: Sitting next to Ayaan in Domus Draconis, and communicating via PMs.
Contact:

Re: Are You Flying Airbus?

Post by Gawdzilla Sama » Sat Jan 21, 2012 3:32 pm

klr wrote:
Gawdzilla wrote:No, me Flying Tank, tovarish.

(Kev? :hehe:)
Just as you're not a back-seat passenger - much more dangerous there apparently. :nervous:

Image
"I'd rather be Fred than Ginger."
Image
Ein Ubootsoldat wrote:“Ich melde mich ab. Grüssen Sie bitte meine Kameraden.”

User avatar
Warren Dew
Posts: 3781
Joined: Thu Aug 19, 2010 1:41 pm
Location: Somerville, MA, USA
Contact:

Re: Are You Flying Airbus?

Post by Warren Dew » Sun Jan 22, 2012 7:50 am

Svartalf wrote:People in the know, would that just be bad craftsmanship, or would it be a sign that those things are getting too big for their own structural integrity?
It's a sign of poor design and testing. Airbus designs their planes with very little safety margin, and the A380 wing test in particular only pushed wing deflection a little past normal operating conditions - 10% if I recall.

Boeing had a similar problem with their 787 wing box, but they tested a wing box to destruction before putting it in an airplane. They then fixed the design before any aircraft were even flight tested.

What with this and the engine disintegration, it sounds like the A380 is going to be as trouble prone as the DC-10 was.

User avatar
JimC
The sentimental bloke
Posts: 74293
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 7:58 am
About me: To be serious about gin requires years of dedicated research.
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Contact:

Re: Are You Flying Airbus?

Post by JimC » Sun Jan 22, 2012 8:25 am

I did all my flying in the early 70's, courtesy of Leary airlines...

These days, I do not fly...
Nurse, where the fuck's my cardigan?
And my gin!

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 38 guests