Ideas and Opinions from Donald Trump and TrumpU Faculty.
Hand Carts and Airplanes
After learning that Air France is replacing the airspeed sensors on its Airbus A330 jets following the air disaster--even though there is no confirmed link between the crash and the airspeed sensors--I spoke to a friend of mine who has a hand-cart company.
For many years his carts were made of steel, and now they are made of a carbon fiber composite that is stronger and lighter than steel, but has moments of weakness. The carts are made of the same composite material as the Airbus 330 vertical stabilizer/rudders. He also explained that out of many thousands of carts made a year, which are extremely durable, he gets about ten calls each year that detail how a cart will disintegrate with very little physical abuse or provocation. They are designed to withstand pressure with the same strength of steel, but there is a small margin of carts that don’t seem to make the grade, for whatever reason.
As a builder, and as someone who is an expert in engineering and construction, I found this information to be startling. It also brought to mind the flight that crashed shortly after take-off from JFK in November of 2001. That jet had a similar rudder as the Air France jet, and the explanation for the crash was that it had experienced turbulence from the jets that had preceded it during take off. That never made sense to me--jets usually take off within close time proximity of each other and the turbulence is natural.
In addition, in looking at the photographs of the rudder of the Air France jet that was found in the Atlantic, it appears that it had broken off or had disintegrated. This part of the wreckage is also in a different area. Considering the material it was made from, I think an investigation into the rudder should be made with a vigor that equals the investigation of the airspeed sensors.
As for me, I have enough information already. This carbon fiber composite has not stood the test of time, temperature, or stresses, especially in the manufacture of high performance passenger aircraft--so don’t expect to see me on a plane with a plastic rudder.
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18 Comments
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I have just visited at the site of Aviation Safety Network / Flight Safety Foundation (http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20011112-0) and there are information about these flights and planes too.
In my opinion it is the motion: to and fro, up and down or rotation that is partly the reason why these rudders usually gets broken. You must do these rudders from material that is mixture steel and carbon fiber, so you have rudder that has the benefits from both these two materials. When you are working against unpredictable crafts so you must think what COULD happen and make decisions and preparations on ground of that. Nothing must be excluded, you must be sure about anything.
You must Think like a Champion also in the plane industry and technology.
All parts are usually made with safety in mind. The fact that every jet that has these parts in them did not have a fatal ending leads me to wonder if excuses not facts are being used to explain a tragic accident that so far has no "black box message" to give the investigation more facts rather than guessing what might have happened.
As for your friend's carts, thanks for the heads-up. I won't be buying one nor will I recommend anyone else buy one. I never had a problem riding around the golf course on any cart. Why fix what isn't broken? Maybe that's what the airlines need to remember. Newer, isn't always safer.
Skipping over the waters...The heroic plane crash/rescue in NY a few months ago. Hate to be in the insurance business. They are now balking on liability issues and on baggage claims. How was it structured with AIG Insurance and with other Insurance carriers? Interesting debate to review in our President's insurance agenda.
We did follow up with a prototype in the airline industry to stop birds with engine failure. A huge problem in the airline industry. They followed up with us. And you are right Mr. Trump airline safety first!
You always get to the real issue, thanks for this blog. Checking seat availability will now be my second priority - right after checking the rudder manufacturer!
PS... HAPPY Birthday - wishing you a wonderful day!!
Gladys
ationalnews=.
Here is another link that indicates that this practice has been implemented in European carriers: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119802209624337975.html
And here is yet another link
http://startelegram.typepad.com/sky_talk/2007/12/rigorous-airbus.html
It appears that this safety concern is not as great now that rigorous testing of the structural integrity of composite airline parts are in place. While there was a rudder problem according to the automatic messages (the control that kept the pilot from turning the rudder too hard when the plane is flying fast was inoperative), other things went wrong first- the autopilot switched off and automatic controls were overridden- then the speed sensing device malfunctioned. Any theory of why the plane fell needs to account for why those messages were triggered first. I’m not an expert, but I’m sure that this will be one thing that some expert somewhere along the line will want to investigate in the absence of better evidence.
You are absolutyely correct pertaining to Air France 447. I am a retired International Captain that flew the Airbus A-310 and the Boeing and I couldn.t wait to return to the B767. As the saying goes 'Boeing Builds Them Better. On November 12, 2001 an American Airlines Airbus A-300 took of behind a B747 from JFK and experienced Wake Turbulence. Due to Violent Applications of the Rudder, the Rudder separated from the Vertical Fin. In the NTSB's Probable Cause Findings, they stated that the Rudder Assembly departed the premesis due to the separation of the composite material associated with the Rudder Attachments. incidentally, the metal attachments with Titanium Bolts remained intact. This is cited in their report.There is an article entitled "Air France Accident: Smoking Gun Found" written by Mr. George Larson, Editor emeritus of the Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine who goes into an in-depth analysis and stated from his previous testing of various aircrafts that the composite material in the rudder assmebly is in Question.
Sincerely,
Captain Nicholas Gravino Jr.
Delta Air Lines,ret.
b767 ER
The only time an aircraft needs a vertical stabilizer is while landing in a crosswind. The rest of the time, an aircraft can fly perfectly well without one! (And use less fuel!)
It worries me more that maybe they're putting composite materials in the FUSELAGE of the aircraft. Since the late 1930s, airliners have had metal skin. When lightning strikes, the current flows over the surface of the aircraft, and usually does no damage to anything inside. (Lightning protection devices are needed for any antennas sticking out of the aircraft.)
Lightning flowing through a COMPOSITE material would make the material explode, just like lightning makes trees explode! So that's my first guess as to what happened to the Air France jet. My second guess is that maybe someone managed to sneak a bomb on board. But since it was flying through storms, my first guess is more likely.
Lightning is most likely at whatever altitude happens to be at 32 degrees. Airliners usually fly FAR above that, where the temperature is more like minus 50. (That's just one reason you can't open the windows!) But storms carry warm air far higher than normal. Cold air might also explain why the aircraft broke up. Materials become brittle when they get cold.
The Navy has some GREAT listening devices on its submarines, so they should be able to find the flight recorders pretty soon. I don't know what kind of equipment they have to pick up anything in water that deep (3 to 4 miles). I suspect the Navy has some equipment they haven't told anyone about.
The Air Force just started test flights of a prototype of a cargo aircraft with the ENTIRE FUSELAGE made of composite materials. (The B-2 and F-22 are ENTIRELY made of composites, mainly to be hard to see on radar.) The cargo aircraft will be lighter and cheaper to make, but if you can't fly it through storms, I'm not sure it's really worth it!
Jeffrey K. Putman
Professional Engineer
Dayton Ohio
je_freedom@usa.net