MetaFilter posts tagged with aviation and aircraft

21st Century Jet: The Building of the 777

FishBike — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:49:47 -0800

21st Century Jet: The Building of the 777 (part 1 of 5) In the early 90's, Boeing decided to build a new airplane, the 777. They also decided to allow KCTS Television and Channel Four London to film the design, construction, and testing of the new airliner. This 5-hour documentary, first aired in 1996, is no longer shown on TV, and out of print on VHS, but you can now watch it on Google Videos. The 777 is still the largest twin-engined airliner ever built. Its engines are the largest aircraft engines ever made. It was the first fly-by-wire airliner from Boeing, their first to be designed entirely on computers. The documentary covers all of this with plenty of airplane stuff, plenty of manufacturing stuff, and also a surprising amount of "people" stuff. Boeing tried a new "Working Together" philosophy to improve teamwork internally, with sub-contractors, with regulatory authorities, and even with customers. As a result, the 777 was the first twin-engined plane certified to fly up to 180 minutes from the nearest airport at entry into service (rather than the usual 60 minutes), and was the first Boeing plane where the first one delivered was accepted by the customer the first time around. Part 1 covers the decision to build a new airplane, how they got United Airlines to be the launch customer, the computerized design process, the new "design-build teams" concept, and some footage of cold weather door tests. It also covers the design of the cupholders and toilet seats (yes, really). Part 2 shows a lot of the initial assembly of wings and fusealge, an internal discussion about whether or not to use aluminum-lithium alloy for some 777 parts, and a visit to a Japanese sub-contractor's new factory. Some of the logistics of getting parts to the assembly line are also included, such as bullet-proof rail cars to prevent skin panels from arriving with bullet holes in them. Don't miss the 130-foot tractor-trailer with a driver at each end. In Part 3, the 777 rolls on its own wheels for the first time. Extensive coverage is given to the design and testing of the new engines, including water, ice, and bird ingestion, and a "blade out" test where a fan blade is intentionally detached from a running engine to make sure the fragments will be contained. Also included in part 3, pressure testing of a completed fuselage, and the large airplane ground operations simulator (LAGOS)--a cockpit on a very long stick to test how best to manuever such a large plane around airports. Concludes with a high-speed taxi test where the 777 "almost" takes to the air. Part 4 begins with the first flight of the 777 and then focuses on the flight testing process and Boeing test pilot John Cashman. In this part, we see such things as intentionally dragging the tail of the aircraft along the runway, a "spray test" involving driving through deep puddles at high speeds, and various brake tests including "the big one" that destroys $750,000 worth of wheels and tires. Part 5 starts with a wing structure being tested to failure, United Airlines making an advertisement featuring the 777, the steps taken to certify the 777 for 180-minute ETOPS at entry into service, and an emergency escape systems test where 419 volunteers get out in less than 90 seconds. Final test flights are flown by United Airlines to prove they are competent to operate the 777 on commercial flights. We see the purchase and delivery of the first plane to United (including a very complicated conference call to conduct the transaction). The documentary ends with the inaugural commercial flight (which one passenger had mis-heard as "an all girl flight").

It's not too early in history to be exterminated by a Dalek

XMLicious — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 04:00:35 -0800

The ring wing or annular airfoil is an aircraft design which has been experimented with throughout the history of aviation with some interesting variations. It has served as the inspiration for several paper airplane designs, model airplanes of course, and a variety of children's toys. The capabilities imagined by the French coléoptère engineers of the 1950's and 1960's and the U.S. "flying tank" designers are available today at least in the form of unmanned vehicles (large PDF brochure, 6 minute video download, 1½ minute YT news clip). The technology has also been adapted to become the surfboard tunnel fin and there are underwater UAVs as well.

Return from orbit is simply the reverse of takeoff.

1f2frfbf — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:12:09 -0800

The Haynes Workshop Manuals are a series of practical instructional repair manuals aimed at both the DIY enthusiast or shade-tree mechanic and the professional garage repairman. In that spirit, they offer the following guides to repair and service the following: The Spitfire Fighter (no, not that one), The Lancaster Bomber and the Apollo modules.

Eclipse Aviation, start to finish.

backseatpilot — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 06:58:51 -0800

Eclipse Aviation yesterday told all of its employees to go home and that they would not be paid for their past two weeks of work. Eclipse has been seen since its inception as a revolutionary company, pioneering the development of the world's first very light jets - defined as a jet aircraft weighing less than 10,000 pounds gross and costing less than $4 million. Philip Greenspun (of photo.net fame) has reviewed many of these VLJs, including the Eclipse 500. The concept was simple: build a fast, cheap twin-engine aircraft for the growing market of private owners and air taxi services. The company won the prestigious Collier Trophy in 2005 (a list of all winners up to 2006 here) before the Eclipse 500 had even been certified. Controversy quickly set in about the company's practices. A blog was established to criticize just about every aspect of the company, from its business model to the design of the aircraft. After Eclipse Aviation Critic shut down, Eclipse Critic NG (named after the airplane's second avionics suite, the Avio NG - the original Avio was replaced after Eclipse dropped Avidyne as a contractor) stepped up to continue the discussion. Eclipse subpoenaed Google to obtain the IP addresses of several of the contributors to that site. After replacing virtually all of their contractors, increasing the base price of the airplane from $800,000 to $1.5 million, and delaying deliveries, Dayjet - an air taxi service and Eclipse's biggest customer - shuttered its doors in September. Last month, Eclipse halted production of its aircraft, leading to yesterday's announcement that its employees would not be paid. Unfortunately, Eclipse's business model is predicated on a rather "optimistic" assumption - 1,000 aircraft sales per year at an original cost of $800,000 per unit. The Teal Group (pdf) has rather a lot to say about the company, most of it negative: The Eclipse program was designed from the outset to be revolutionary and unique. In Teal Group’s estimation, the people behind Eclipse have attained this objective. This program is the single worst aviation program Teal Group has ever covered. It isn’t the aircraft itself. Rather, it was a business plan that makes no sense, except to attract investors who don’t know much about the aviation business. The plan called for 1,000 deliveries per year. As a reference point, in 2007 the world’s manufacturers delivered a total of about 4,000 turbine-powered aircraft of all types and models. This one company, an unknown start-up, proposed to grow that global figure by 25%, admitting that it couldn’t survive if it merely built 450 planes per year (100 aircraft more than any other turbine-powered aircraft model).

Eject! Eject! Eject!

cenoxo — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 00:45:35 -0800

Eject! Eject! Eject! Whether used in the air, on land, at sea (and under it), or on the way to the Moon, ejection seats and capsules have saved thousands of aviators worldwide. The basic concept was first tested in 1912, developed by the Germans in WWII, and became standard safety equipment in high-speed, high-altitude jet and rocket aircraft. (Although ejection seats were in Gemini spacecraft, they were only in early Space Shuttle flights.) Much happens very quickly during ejection, and harrowing accidents and pilot deaths still occur. The decision not to eject right away may be heroic, but even pilots who wait may live while innocent bystanders^{^} die. However, the efforts of dedicated researchers and rocket sled testing by seat manufacturers keep adding new members to the unique club of men and women who survive to fly again.

Derelicts vs. Cannibals

breezeway — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 09:19:52 -0800

Planes check in but they don’t check out. At boneyards across the country, derelict airliners await cannibalization, destruction, or possible restoration.

Your favorite cock pit

breezeway — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 10:44:35 -0800

Wildcats, Falcons, Dragonflies, Dominators, Lancers, Starlifters, Sea Stallions, Shooting Stars, Stilletos (or is it Stilleti?): instrument panels

Not quite a flying car, but we're getting there

cedar — Sat, 27 Mar 2004 09:23:39 -0800

X-43A Flight. "The unpiloted 12-foot-long X-43A vehicle, part aircraft and part spacecraft, will be dropped from the wing of a B-52 aircraft, lofted to nearly 100,000 feet by a booster rocket and released over the Pacific Ocean to briefly fly under its own power at seven times the speed of sound." Watch (RealPlayer) it live.

Aerosite

hama7 — Mon, 29 Dec 2003 18:08:38 -0800

Aerosite.

Bamboo Dick

Silune — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 11:53:23 -0800

One hundred years later, the question remains: Did Pearse fly?