AA brand-new Boeing 737 Max gets built in just nine days. In that time, a team of 12,000 people turns a loose assemblage of parts into a finished $120 million airplane with some truly cutting-edge technology: winglets based on ones designed by NASA, engines that feature the world’s first one-piece carbon-fiber fan blades, and computers with the same processing power as, uh, the Super Nintendo. See www.verge.com

(Written on 2020/04/09)(Permalink)

Good point. In any event pilots should be trained and then tested that they understood such events. You don’t do that in 20 minutes on an iPad.

(Written on 2019/12/20)(Permalink)

I am curious to know what the insurance industry response will be? Will premiums for Boeing or airlines flying the Max increase? Will this result in higher fares that impact customer numbers? Will airlines get insurance until pilots are Fully RE-trained in manually disabling MCAS and taking control? Who pays for RE-training? Are there enough simulators around the globe? Who provides their trainers? These are just more questions that will be raised if not already addressed.

(Written on 2019/12/19)(Permalink)

It is synonymous to a cancer where the patient ignores the symptoms. The the medicos apply chemotherapy and radiation. The treatment extends the life of the patient but eventually succumbs to the illness or the treatment. If Boeing are to survive they may have to halt production permanently as the plane will no longer be trusted by airlines, and dare I say it, the travelling public. Already I hear friends saying the fly with xx airline as they use Airbus. Australians have to travel great distances by air so this nervousness is anticipated. Folks not from the USA have no allegiance to Boeing.

(Written on 2019/12/12)(Permalink)

I suspect pilot training on simulators will be mandatory. This is something the marketing people wanted to avoid because of time and cost.

(Written on 2019/07/12)(Permalink)

Perhaps Boeing should consider fitting the old engines on the planes and selling the aircraft off cheaply. That way the reputation of the 737 as a good workhorse would be maintained. Any airline with a fleet of 737 MAX is going to lose sales to competitors. That’s reality. How is Boeing going to compensate them? I can see the lawyers salivating at the prospects. Was anyone interested in flying in a Comet with new windows fitted? A Titanic with more lifeboats? It’s time for management to get a backbone other from KMart and make the hard decisions.

(Written on 2019/07/12)(Permalink)

The marketing people created this nightmare by rushing a plane to market. A similar event occurred when Microsoft bought Nokia mobile phones. They spent USD7 billion trying to compete with Apple with their WIN10 phone. The apps developers didn’t develop their products for the new platform. MS eventually abandoned the MS WIN10 phone as the public didn’t buy it. Although it was a serious contender from a technology perspective. They reverted to Android phones. Boeing will eventually bite the bullet and abandon the Max. They will survive and develop new aircraft. The MAX737 could be compared to Titanic II. It won’t stand the pub test. God forbid if there was an unexplained crash after they fly again.

(Written on 2019/07/11)(Permalink)