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Glideslope

macrumors G3
Dec 7, 2007
8,331
5,791
The Adirondacks.
Muilenburg is gone. Does Calhoun have what it takes to restore customer confidence? I was hoping for someone with more of an aviation background. His record at Blackstone and GE don’t impress me. Was the delay is removing Mulienburg too late? :apple:
 

LizKat

macrumors 604
Aug 5, 2004
6,770
36,283
Catskill Mountains
Muilenburg is gone. Does Calhoun have what it takes to restore customer confidence? I was hoping for someone with more of an aviation background. His record at Blackstone and GE don’t impress me. Was the delay is removing Mulienburg too late? :apple:

Who knows... but it looks like they're trying to come clean with internal memos etc on the 737 MAX... released a lot of stuff that's pretty grim in terms of inside attitude towards the plane, the regulators, etc. So looks like someone if not counsel or the board or Calhoun himself has figured only way to deal with this is get it out there and try to move on.

 

hawkeye_a

macrumors 68000
Jun 27, 2016
1,637
4,384
Can they salvage what has been manufactured so far by correcting the flaw(s), or maybe even "degrade" to the previous model's design somehow?
 
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LizKat

macrumors 604
Aug 5, 2004
6,770
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Catskill Mountains
The stupidest thing I ever heard was an idea from last summer that I hope has been ditched by now: rebranding the reworked 737 MAX to have some other name. Maybe that works for the likes of scandal-ridden corporations (Enron or Blackwater, anyone?) but the idea that the flying public should not have the right to decide not to fly on a retro-improved 737 MAX is just bonkers. At least United and Southwest have said they're willing to let passengers rebook flights if they're not comfortable flying on a MAX when flights resume.

Why not just reinforce awareness that pilots of these planes certainly don't mean to fly an unsafe aircraft and it's not like they're ever going to be cavalier about piloting this plane in future. If ever pilots were "woke" about need to know the plane they're about to take off in is safe, I'd think that how they might feel about flying the "new MAX" would once again become the new normal: "show me... prove it."

That attitude likely has something to do with some of the airlines now stating they won't schedule these planes into service until the pilots have all undergone simulator training. Boeing itself is apparently coming around to this.

 
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LizKat

macrumors 604
Aug 5, 2004
6,770
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Who said it first?

Well it may have been a widely esteemed business expert, our current US president.

I'm not going to put the tweet link here bc it will unfurl with its replies and I don't want to politicize this thread. But a search on 'president's tweet rebranding 737 MAX' would fetch the tweet and some related reporting.
 

Glideslope

macrumors G3
Dec 7, 2007
8,331
5,791
The Adirondacks.
Who knows... but it looks like they're trying to come clean with internal memos etc on the 737 MAX... released a lot of stuff that's pretty grim in terms of inside attitude towards the plane, the regulators, etc. So looks like someone if not counsel or the board or Calhoun himself has figured only way to deal with this is get it out there and try to move on.


Agreed. The released internal documents from this week are extremely unsettling. While it can be viewed by some as simply Simulator Pilots expressing person views on the simulator vs flying the aircraft I‘m afraid it’s more nefarious. If Boeing‘s Commercial Aircraft Division is to survive they need to bring in a new team from outside the company. Calhoun is not removed enough.

To be clear, I still feel the Max is an aerodynamically stable aircraft. However, MCAS needs to be removed, and the Max will require a separate Type Rating. I see no other solution. :apple:
 

Glideslope

macrumors G3
Dec 7, 2007
8,331
5,791
The Adirondacks.
Airbus released video of the first series of ATTOL in an A 350. Thoughts on ATTOL? I'm ok with the development of new technology that can assist but not replace a crew. The vast majority of PAX are opposed to flying on any Fully Automated Airliner.

Do you think we will see pilotless commercial aircraft in the next 25-30 years? If so would you fly on them? Airbus seems determined to push ATTOL. Let's not bring MCAS into this as ATTOL is vastly different, and Airbus is not Boeing. ;)

 

cube

Suspended
May 10, 2004
17,011
4,973
Airbus released video of the first series of ATTOL in an A 350. Thoughts on ATTOL? I'm ok with the development of new technology that can assist but not replace a crew. The vast majority of PAX are opposed to flying on any Fully Automated Airliner.

Do you think we will see pilotless commercial aircraft in the next 25-30 years? If so would you fly on them? Airbus seems determined to push ATTOL. Let's not bring MCAS into this as ATTOL is vastly different, and Airbus is not Boeing. ;)

The question is how overriding works.
 

Huntn

macrumors Penryn
May 5, 2008
24,025
27,105
The Misty Mountains
Airbus released video of the first series of ATTOL in an A 350. Thoughts on ATTOL? I'm ok with the development of new technology that can assist but not replace a crew. The vast majority of PAX are opposed to flying on any Fully Automated Airliner.

Do you think we will see pilotless commercial aircraft in the next 25-30 years? If so would you fly on them? Airbus seems determined to push ATTOL. Let's not bring MCAS into this as ATTOL is vastly different, and Airbus is not Boeing. ;)

I don’t think so. Passengers want a pilot, more like 2, even if they are glorified caretakers.
[automerge]1579411303[/automerge]
Yes. I’m actually more interested in how crews maintain their proficiency going forward into this new area of aviation. I worry about more simulator time.
That is a real worry. Degrading skills due to reliance on automation.
 
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LizKat

macrumors 604
Aug 5, 2004
6,770
36,283
Catskill Mountains
Speaking of Boeing woes of the less widely advertised sort: avian competition. A pair of peregrine falcons have taken up residence in rafters of the 737 plant outside Seattle. They often dine on prey like pigeons or even crows that get in when the factory doors are open and thus present themselves as lunch on the wing for these magnificent raptors that can fly up to 240 miles an hour. The thing is... they're messy, picky eaters and rather careless parents.

 

Glideslope

macrumors G3
Dec 7, 2007
8,331
5,791
The Adirondacks.
Speaking of Boeing woes of the less widely advertised sort: avian competition. A pair of peregrine falcons have taken up residence in rafters of the 737 plant outside Seattle. They often dine on prey like pigeons or even crows that get in when the factory doors are open and thus present themselves as lunch on the wing for these magnificent raptors that can fly up to 240 miles an hour. The thing is... they're messy, picky eaters and rather careless parents.


If they are not careful they will end up as FOD in a KC-46 panel or the wing tank of a Max. Sad times in Seattle.
 

Huntn

macrumors Penryn
May 5, 2008
24,025
27,105
The Misty Mountains
I’m not an expert on the 737 Max but here is my impression. Feel free to correct me about any of it.

  • The FAA in it’s wisdom as part of cost savings allowed Boeing to basically certify itself (this may not be an accurate description).
  • That Boeing added new features to it’s flight control system but failed to document these with airlines or pilots as far as what new behavior could occur nor what new malfunctions that could happen as a result of these changes. An American Airlines pilot representing their union made this claim, nothing was added to their manuals, no bulletins.
  • That Boeing knew there were issues (I don’t know the extent) but with the time pressures, someone figured out they could sort them out without loss of an aircraft.
  • That the 2 aircraft lost, were being flown by third world airlines so, there might be some training and pilot competence issues involved in those 2 crashes.
  • Someone said fixing the issue of a false stall warming and the nose dipping was the equivalent of run away trim and could have been corrected by switching off the autopilot or some other item. I’ve always said that the new flight systems designed to mitigate pilot error, there is a what is the plane doing now? syndrom at times. On the Airbus, which I flew, these type of issues could be corrected by simply turning off the autopilot.
  • And as the FAA investigated these crashes enough anomalies appeared in the established certification, that they decided to recertify the aircraft from scratch or to some greater degree (my speculation), hence the extended time these aircraft have been grounded. Recently some Maxes were discovered with foreign object debry floating around in them, a huge safety no no.
 

Huntn

macrumors Penryn
May 5, 2008
24,025
27,105
The Misty Mountains

Rest in pieces.
Hmm. The link said something about proving flat Earth theory, was that to fly up and see for yourself the Earth is really flat? A commercial airline flight would have been less expensive and safer. The pilot will probably receive a Darwin Award. :(

Of note he had previously successfully flown this rocket to 1800’ if I heard it correctly. From 1 year ago:

 
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Huntn

macrumors Penryn
May 5, 2008
24,025
27,105
The Misty Mountains
Now will the JD issue indictments against Boeing executives and the leaders of the FAA. ? a2

There is a huge reason they say regulations are often written in blood. ...but think of all the extra $$$ we can make without them... oops. ?
 
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