777 Sheds Weight

[J]

At 52 seconds you can see that Verbal is using an adjustable wrench
to install aircraft fasteners.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... N90SXMM1q4

[3WE]

Good to see Verbal there.

But...

...when a load-bearing sheet of metal simply pushes through the nut (where the washer used to be) it's called in-flight structural break up within 18 months.

And the electronic tail skid? What's it doing now?

[ZilogMan]

Yeah, I`d like to learn about the electronic tail skid system too. But for the records, I love the 777...

[Verbal]

At 52 seconds you can see that Verbal is using an adjustable wrench
to install aircraft fasteners.

That is incorrect. Generally we prefer to use 16 oz. framing hammers to install airplane fasteners.

[elaw]

Yeah, I`d like to learn about the electronic tail skid system too. But for the records, I love the 777...

From http://www.boeing.com/news/frontiers/ar ... /i_tt.html:

The tailstrike protection system's technology, embedded in the airplane's fly-by-wire flight-control computer, continuously surveys key aircraft performance data and sensor input. The technology computes the location of the airplane's aft fuselage relative to the runway, as well as the closure rate at which the fuselage approaches the runway during takeoff. If the system senses an impending tailstrike, it automatically commands the aircraft's elevators-moveable, hydraulically powered control surfaces located on the tail's horizontal surface that cause an airplane's body to rotate about its pitch axis-to generate nose-down pitching movements as needed to avoid a tailstrike.

I'm guessing it looks at pitch angle and squat switches on the main gear to determine whether the plane's still on the ground and the rotation angle. If it thinks the angle is too great or will be, it limits or reduces elevator "nose up" motion to prevent the pitch increasing further.

Basically what the pilot should do, but it's a computer so it will never ever make a mistake.

[flyboy2548m]

The E190/195 has a similar system. The 320 series has a tailstrike advisory rather than tailstrike prevention system. The aircraft starts screaming "pitch! pitch! pitch!" at the right combination of factors.

[elaw]

The 320 series has a tailstrike advisory rather than tailstrike prevention system.

Ah, when I first read that I pictured something like this:

Hey! Dumba$$! You just had a tailstrike! How many times have I told you this would happen if you kept pulling back so hard? Huh? How many times? But did you listen? NOOOO. Do you know how much this is going to cost to fix? This is coming out of your paycheck, young man!

...programmed by the wife of one of the plane's designers.

[Not_Karl]

The 320 series has a tailstrike advisory rather than tailstrike prevention system.

Ah, when I first read that I pictured something like this:

Hey! Dumba$$! You just had a tailstrike! How many times have I told you this would happen if you kept pulling back so hard? Huh? How many times? But did you listen? NOOOO. Do you know how much this is going to cost to fix? This is coming out of your paycheck, young man!

...programmed by the wife of one of the plane's designers.

Being an Airbus the sentence should start with "RETARD! RETARD!" .

At 52 seconds you can see that Verbal is using an adjustable wrench
to install aircraft fasteners.

That is incorrect. Generally we prefer to use 16 oz. framing hammers to install airplane fasteners.

Stop leaking highly sensitive secrets. Now the Chinese know how to make a 777 .

[3WE]

The E190/195 has a similar system. The 320 series has a tailstrike advisory rather than tailstrike prevention system. The aircraft starts screaming "pitch! pitch! pitch!" at the right combination of factors.

I would make a judgmental parlour inactive private pilot comment of why don't they JUST monitor pitch...

But, I have utilized the 172M tail skid (example) on more than one occasion.

I will, however, brag that it is most definitely not_cheap composites.

[3WE]

...The aircraft starts screaming "pitch! pitch! pitch!"...

...from what I hear, you couldn't hit water if you fell out of a GD boat...you're not gonna hit me because you're starting to think about it...how embarrassing it would be to mess up in front of all of your friends...come on meat, show us that million dollar arm, 'cuz I have a real good idea about that 5-cent head of yours....

[3WE]

...Stop leaking highly sensitive secrets. Now the Chinese know how to make a 777 ...

Do we have a touch of xenophobia?

[Not_Karl]

Do we have a touch of xenophobia?

no
But we Americans tend to be a little cautious on what whe share with the Chinese and the Commies .

[3WE]

...If 3BS were flying, it would be "RETARD, RETARD!" ...

[J]

Here is an interesting challenge for Boeing. The 777 300er is an excellent plane but sales are slipping as customers wait for the 777X.


http://www.seattletimes.com/business/bo ... t-pick-up/

[J]

Verbal's marketing people must have made a pretty attractive offer. Or was it part of the deal to sell fighter aircraft?

Qatar Airways announced an order from Boeing for 30 787-9s and 10 777-300ERs widebody jets and an additional letter of intent to order a further 60 single-aisle 737 MAX 8s. The order could help avoid a 777 production rate cut and job losses in Everett.

According to data from aircraft valuation firm Avitas, the full 100-jet order — which is valued at $18.6 billion at list prices, assuming the MAX order is finalized — is worth an estimated $8.8 billion after standard industry discounts.

The sale throws Boeing a lifeline in a year when airplane orders, especially widebody jet sales, have slowed to a level bringing fears of a downturn ahead.

This is the largest Dreamliner order since 2013. And the smaller order for 777s will go at least some way toward bridging the yawning production gap ahead of the ramp up of the new 777X early in the 2020s.

At the press conference in the D.C. Four Seasons hotel, Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief Ray Conner called the deal “a huge boost for the 777 program, as it is for the 787 program.”

Before the announcement, Boeing had just six net orders this year for its 777 jet.

Boeing has already announced it will cut 777 production from the current 100 jets per year to 66 per year in 2018. It also signaled in August that a further cut is threatened without more 777 orders — a move that might trigger layoffs in Everett.

It’s unclear how far an order for just ten of those planes will go toward avoiding another rate cut but Conner seemed optimistic.

“We’ll just have to wait and see how the rest of our order stream plays out,” Conner said. “But I can tell you, ten 777s is a big deal. And where these airplanes fall within our delivery stream is extremely important to us in terms of what we do with our production rates.”

While Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker this summer was publicly critical of Boeing rival Airbus over delays in its jet deliveries, at the press conference he said the airline will not cancel its sales contract for 50 Airbus A320neos, which is the competitor jet to the Boeing MAX.

As A320neo deliveries to Qatar lag due to delays in delivering the jet’s Pratt & Whitney engine, Al Baker said the new MAX order will add more capacity for the airline’s “ever-expanding network” and also provide “a firm delivery schedule.”

The timing and location of Friday’s announcement was clearly determined by the politics of a major U.S. arms sale to Qatar.

The finalizing of the widebody jet order comes shortly after the U.S. government signaled approval to let Boeing sell 36 F-15E jet fighters to the Gulf country.

Al Baker denied any linkage, saying the airline’s orders are independent of the country’s close military and political ties with the U.S.

“Nothing is attached to anything,” Al Baker said.

However, the political element of the commercial relationship was underlined by the presence at the press conference of Qatar’s minister of finance, Ali Shareef Al Emadi, who is also chairman of the airline, and Tony Blinken, the U.S. deputy secretary of state.

http://www.seattletimes.com/business/bo ... ing-qatar/

[Not_Karl]

No snow-coffee for Verbie this year!