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ArVaGuy

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Posts posted by ArVaGuy

  1. Bottom line is that the FAA didn't build the plane, Boeing did, and now they are in full meltdown, according to the papers as all 787 are grounded. Will the 787 ever fly, absolutely, but who am I going to trust to tell me when it is safe? The FAA or some guy from Boeing. I have my answer to that.

     

    It will be BOTH the FAA and Boeing who will certify the airworthiness of that aircraft. The FAA does not have the technical capability to find and fix the issue. All they will do is stand over the shoulder of the engineers and mechanics while they do the work. Then certify it as acceptable. A solution will be found to what is a serious but not major flaw. After all the FAA issued the flight certificate for this aircraft after years of testing.

  2. Yep. ISTR the 777 went through MUCH more than this.

     

    I've been wondering for years how long we'd be stuck with LiIon batteries. After their history of erupting in flames inside laptop computers you'd think someone would have come up with something better by now.

     

     

     

    "Cap'n, She's gonna need new dilithium crystals if she's evr ta fly agin."

    http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c262/cpapa8162/Scotty_zpse88debb1.jpg

  3. True enough, but it is also my right to have a public servant watch over a corporation that has clearly shipped part of the manufacturing overseas, that some have indicated is possibly responsible for the problems the 787 is having. Who watches the Corporations?

     

     

     

     

    Someone might want to tell that to Boeing.

     

    But who watches the regulators? The FAA has been criticised for being a revolving door between the airlines, manufacturers, and government bureaucrats for decades. Corporate donors get plum Administration posts while high and mid-level bureaucrats take cushy jobs with industry titans for very lucrative salaries to "consult" on how to win contracts or keep the regulators at bay. We can't trust Congress to do the job regardless of party they are corrupt and inept when it comes to oversight.

  4. The A380 was never grounded by the FAA if I recall correctly. Singapore Airlines and Qantas inidividually decided to ground the aircraft. In my view, the FAA issuing instructions to ground the US fleet (albeit a very small one) of the 787 takes this beyond what has happened with the A380. This is yet another problem on top of many problems and delays with the dreamliner. If Boeing can't get to the crux of the issue pretty quickly, this could have devastating affects on the company. Two potential lithium battery fires in the cargo hold of the 787 is no small matter. Luckily one happened on the ground in Boston and the other on a very short domestic Japanese flight where the aircraft was able to return to an airport very quickly. It's appropriate for these aircraft to be grounded until the battery issue and fuel leak issue can be dealt with. That could take days/weeks/months. If you think that cannot be very very problematic to Boeing, you're fooling yourself.

     

    I don't see anyone on this board "freaking out"......but concern is a normal reaction. I have been on the UA Dreamliner twice. I would go on one again for a domestic trip (where a quick emergency landing is possible) but, at this point, I would not take one on a transoceanic flight. I guess its all moot anyway since most of the worlds fleet of this aircraft are now grounded and rightly so.

     

    The FAA did not ground the A380 because no US carrier purchased the plane for their fleets. Regulatory groundings are country specific though each authority closely follows its international counter parts. Hence the FAA acted after the Japan regulator grounded the ANA and JAL fleets. Of course the fleet should be grounded till the issue is resolved. But any new design is going to have production issues.

     

    I'm not say the board is freaking out but the media coverage is overhyped.

     

    Its doubtful to me that we have another DeHavilland Comet on our hands.

  5. I recall that Boeing chose to have many of the component parts manufactured by overseas subcontractors. The finished components such as wing assemblies and other parts are then flown to the Boeing plant (in 747s no less) and then assembled. Clearly the effort to shave a few percent on the costs may have contributed to some of the issues but that's true with all manufacturing these days. (Build it all in the US and eliminate the worry of lousy sub-contractors is my line of thinking on this issue.)

     

    Let's keep in mind we are talking about 50 aircraft being grounded world wide. Only six of those are flown by a US carrier at this time, United. The engineers are busting their collective asses to trouble shoot this problem and will have it solved in time. No need to freak out about this, it's new technology and don't be surprised if some of this is computer coding issues and not mechanical.

     

    The A380 was grounded twice in the first full year of operation. Those pesky engine mounts snapping off in mid-flight or taxi were a bitch. Further the A319 and A320 have been pulled from service due to accelerated corrosion issues from time to time. And the Boeing 737 had major issues just fourteen years ago where the worldwide fleet had to be grounded due to wire insulation issues near the fuel tanks. Not a single 737 ever blew up mid flight as I recall but the entire electrical system of those planes in use in 1998 had be reworked.

     

    I personally refuse to buy in to media hype about this issue. The 787 will prove to be a success long term and we need to get over the hand-wringing.

     

    (Mullaly went on to save the Ford Motor Company so no doubt he's feeling pretty good about his situation these days.)

  6. I'm quite surprised there haven't been any threads or posts on last night's episode of Glee. The "Let's Get Physical" number was hot! Very yummy!

     

    I tried finding a link to a full version of it today, but can't find one.

     

    An adbridged version can be seen HERE

     

     

    That sequence was awesome. Here's a Fox link on background about the scene. Perhaps it will wind up on iTunes sooner or later.

     

    http://www.fox.com/watch/glee/82964646001

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