Don't fly on a 737-MAX

Haych

I worked very briefly in aviation and what amazes me is that there is no lifespan on aircraft parts. 

At the end of its service life an aircraft can be dismantled and the parts resold to other operators. 

There is usually an inspection and certification process, and traceability is a priority. But it’s kind of scary that an almost brand new aircraft could have parts from a 40+ year old plane used when it needs repair!

Danny1969

Haych said:

I worked very briefly in aviation and what amazes me is that there is no lifespan on aircraft parts. 

At the end of its service life an aircraft can be dismantled and the parts resold to other operators. 

There is usually an inspection and certification process, and traceability is a priority. But it’s kind of scary that an almost brand new aircraft could have parts from a 40+ year old plane used when it needs repair!

I've driven past a massive plane scrap yard in the desert in California. I've never seen anything like it, just hundreds of planes standing there in the desert baking in the sun. As an aviation toilet can fetch 40K though I'm not surprised. 

Jalapeno

Haych said:

Kittyfrisk said:

Sad news  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68534703

Wowsers!  I've read too many David Baldacci and John Grisham novels and my mind is doing somersaults!

Quite. A very convenient suicide (for Boeing & FAA)

yocky

Axe_meister said:

I did Aero Eng at uni, and it still fills me with wonder how they fly.

That's comforting....

snowblind

I always remember flying to the US on Virgin just after they got started as a business. Branson bought a couple of second hand 747s which were already something like 20 years old. We're sat on the deck at Heathrow and the pilot comes on to say there will be a short delay while we drill a broken component out of the cockpit. Shortly after some mechanic type in overalls comes strolling down the centre aisle with drill in hand. 

All so reassuring. 

elstoof

proper planes in those days, you could fix the whole thing with an imperial socket set and some elbow grease 

Brio

Was that the inaugural press junket to Miami? That was a total clusterfuck jazz band and all.

snowblind

Brio said:

Was that the inaugural press junket to Miami? That was a total clusterfuck jazz band and all.

Luckily no. Into New York. We were only a couple of hours late in the end and nothing else fell off on the way over (that we knew about). 

Danny1969

snowblind said:

I always remember flying to the US on Virgin just after they got started as a business. Branson bought a couple of second hand 747s which were already something like 20 years old. We're sat on the deck at Heathrow and the pilot comes on to say there will be a short delay while we drill a broken component out of the cockpit. Shortly after some mechanic type in overalls comes strolling down the centre aisle with drill in hand. 

All so reassuring. 

I flew on one of BA's oldest  747's in 2019 ... the plane had ashtrays. Smoking was banned in the late nineties so nobody had used them for 20 odd years. The plane itself was 30 years old at least I think. 

For long haul over the ocean I always felt safer on a 4 engined 747. Fantastic safety record

ICBM

Danny1969 said:

For long haul over the ocean I always felt safer on a 4 engined 747. Fantastic safety record

The modern ETOPS certified twins are astoundingly reliable - as far as I know, no modern airliner has ever had a dual engine failure that wasn't caused by some other fault or error (mostly fuel-related), rather than the engines.

RocknRollDave

I don’t understand how aeroplanes ever crash, seeing as they are flown along wires these days.

or something.


I guess sometimes the wire breaks and they fall down?