Aerospace Engineer Answers Airplane Questions From Twitter - Tech Support - WIRED
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Date: 2024-09-11
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Comments and reviews: 20
notmenotme614
Is flying safer than driving your car
1. There’s a lot of redundancy in aircraft. If one component fails there’s at least one other backup. Critical components like the flying control computers and wiring will be quadruplex (4 backups that cross check each other. The aircraft I worked on had at least 5 ways of generating electricity (an AC generator per engine, a DC gen per engine, transformer rectifiers to make DC into AC, electrical buses that can be connected to power another, Ram Air Turbine)
2. The standards of aircraft maintenance is on a whole different level. Everything is checked, tested, inspected and certified by Supervisors and Inspectors. Tool control and documentation is very strict. It’s easy to lose your job if you make errors. There’s no cowboys unlike car mechanics.
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Is flying safer than driving your car
1. There’s a lot of redundancy in aircraft. If one component fails there’s at least one other backup. Critical components like the flying control computers and wiring will be quadruplex (4 backups that cross check each other. The aircraft I worked on had at least 5 ways of generating electricity (an AC generator per engine, a DC gen per engine, transformer rectifiers to make DC into AC, electrical buses that can be connected to power another, Ram Air Turbine)
2. The standards of aircraft maintenance is on a whole different level. Everything is checked, tested, inspected and certified by Supervisors and Inspectors. Tool control and documentation is very strict. It’s easy to lose your job if you make errors. There’s no cowboys unlike car mechanics.
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2Phast4Rocket
The airplane accident statistics only applies to commercial airline travel. If you fly in General Aviation, meaning if you fly your own airplane such as Cessna or Piper, the accident statistics is closer to motorcycle accidents. In the commercial airline industry, there are always two professional pilots in the cockpit, and each of them, even the junior, has thousands of flight hours. Also the airliner crew must undergo refresher training every 6 months. In General Aviation, an average pilot only has a few hundreds hours of flight time, and most of the time, there is only a single pilot in the cockpit. So don't lump the airplane statistic into one.
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The airplane accident statistics only applies to commercial airline travel. If you fly in General Aviation, meaning if you fly your own airplane such as Cessna or Piper, the accident statistics is closer to motorcycle accidents. In the commercial airline industry, there are always two professional pilots in the cockpit, and each of them, even the junior, has thousands of flight hours. Also the airliner crew must undergo refresher training every 6 months. In General Aviation, an average pilot only has a few hundreds hours of flight time, and most of the time, there is only a single pilot in the cockpit. So don't lump the airplane statistic into one.
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danh6720
Who's experiencing 2g's on a commercial flight outside of an emergency And fighter pilots experience up to 6g's About 3 short. I guess some things never change. When I was at Purdue flying regularly, I talked to a sophomore or junior aero engineering student who couldn't remember the word ailerons, so she said the flappy bits on the ends of the wings. She was good at the kind of subjects that would have put me into a coma though, and the other good thing about aero engineers is they'll design that airliner to withstand loads it should never see.
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Who's experiencing 2g's on a commercial flight outside of an emergency And fighter pilots experience up to 6g's About 3 short. I guess some things never change. When I was at Purdue flying regularly, I talked to a sophomore or junior aero engineering student who couldn't remember the word ailerons, so she said the flappy bits on the ends of the wings. She was good at the kind of subjects that would have put me into a coma though, and the other good thing about aero engineers is they'll design that airliner to withstand loads it should never see.
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bobrichards318
Is it safer Not necessarily. How many car accidents have killed 300 people in it You cannot view statistics the same as they are not the same. If a car dies, you could most likely get it over to the side and have it towed or fixed. Not the same for a plane. Just as getting in a car doesn't mean you will be in an accident, getting in a plane does not mean it will crash and most likely it will not. That is what those who have dies in plane crashes believed also. Nothing is for sure.
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Is it safer Not necessarily. How many car accidents have killed 300 people in it You cannot view statistics the same as they are not the same. If a car dies, you could most likely get it over to the side and have it towed or fixed. Not the same for a plane. Just as getting in a car doesn't mean you will be in an accident, getting in a plane does not mean it will crash and most likely it will not. That is what those who have dies in plane crashes believed also. Nothing is for sure.
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jsmith1746
Regarding aircraft with more than two engines, e. g. the 747, we (I am a 747 captain) actually train to fly and land with two of the four engines inoperative. There is a defined procedure in the manuals for a two engine inoperative approach, landing, and go-around. Of course in training, this is always done with both engines on one side failed, which makes it even more challenging. But yes, a four engine 747 can fly, and even climb (very slowly, with two of the four engines failed.
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Regarding aircraft with more than two engines, e. g. the 747, we (I am a 747 captain) actually train to fly and land with two of the four engines inoperative. There is a defined procedure in the manuals for a two engine inoperative approach, landing, and go-around. Of course in training, this is always done with both engines on one side failed, which makes it even more challenging. But yes, a four engine 747 can fly, and even climb (very slowly, with two of the four engines failed.
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Bulldogg6404
Watching this video, i could tell that these questions were kinda low difficulty. Like how do wings generate lift is early physics, why not make the plane out of black box material is obvious enough to someone who isn't looking only at airplane safety, etc. I'm certain there are plenty of interesting questions of higher difficulty that Dr. Crossley could have answered. As a comparison, it felt like watching Shaq teach half-court basketball to a group of teenagers, heh
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Watching this video, i could tell that these questions were kinda low difficulty. Like how do wings generate lift is early physics, why not make the plane out of black box material is obvious enough to someone who isn't looking only at airplane safety, etc. I'm certain there are plenty of interesting questions of higher difficulty that Dr. Crossley could have answered. As a comparison, it felt like watching Shaq teach half-court basketball to a group of teenagers, heh
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Croz89
I think during take off and landing, having two pilots is still probably very useful as it's a very busy period of the flight. We know solo pilots in GA aircraft can get task saturated when dealing with ATC in complex airspace and make mistakes, so having a second pilot to split some of the workload with, like one flies the plane and the other communicates with ATC is probably still pretty useful in large aircraft.
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I think during take off and landing, having two pilots is still probably very useful as it's a very busy period of the flight. We know solo pilots in GA aircraft can get task saturated when dealing with ATC in complex airspace and make mistakes, so having a second pilot to split some of the workload with, like one flies the plane and the other communicates with ATC is probably still pretty useful in large aircraft.
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edwardwright8127
Commercial aircraft are safer than cars on a per-mile basis, not a per-hour basis. Most people spend a lot more time in their cars than airplanes, of course, but commercial airline pilot is the most dangerous occupation tracked by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. (The BLS does not track other types of flying which are far more dangerous. I’ve lost more friends in aircraft accidents than auto accidents)
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Commercial aircraft are safer than cars on a per-mile basis, not a per-hour basis. Most people spend a lot more time in their cars than airplanes, of course, but commercial airline pilot is the most dangerous occupation tracked by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. (The BLS does not track other types of flying which are far more dangerous. I’ve lost more friends in aircraft accidents than auto accidents)
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angelkilier
Assuming an airplane is made of the material that black box is made of, even if it could survive a crash, passengers still won't. During a crash, something somehow needs to absorb up all the kinetic energy for humans to survive and there is just too much of it for anything to absorb it all. Plus rigid material is not that good at absorbing kinetic energy, they transfer the energy instead.
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Assuming an airplane is made of the material that black box is made of, even if it could survive a crash, passengers still won't. During a crash, something somehow needs to absorb up all the kinetic energy for humans to survive and there is just too much of it for anything to absorb it all. Plus rigid material is not that good at absorbing kinetic energy, they transfer the energy instead.
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roypiltdown5083
bird strikes when i was in the AF back in the mid 80s, our maintenance magazine showcased a strike in California, where a deer ran onto the runway as an FB-111 was taking off - wrecked the aircraft and (of course) obliterated the deer, but in fairness, the crew chief got to paint a little deer silhouette on the side of the cockpit when the plane returned to service.
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bird strikes when i was in the AF back in the mid 80s, our maintenance magazine showcased a strike in California, where a deer ran onto the runway as an FB-111 was taking off - wrecked the aircraft and (of course) obliterated the deer, but in fairness, the crew chief got to paint a little deer silhouette on the side of the cockpit when the plane returned to service.
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alexdaland
One thing is that ATC can not take over, for technical reasons, yes - however, ATC is not qualified to fly an airliner, or any plane for that matter. So even if they could do it - they would still need a pilot to actually do it, and even if an ATC might also be a pilot, the chances of that person having the skillset to fly that particular aircraft is about zero.
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One thing is that ATC can not take over, for technical reasons, yes - however, ATC is not qualified to fly an airliner, or any plane for that matter. So even if they could do it - they would still need a pilot to actually do it, and even if an ATC might also be a pilot, the chances of that person having the skillset to fly that particular aircraft is about zero.
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aland7236
I grew up out in the country during the 90s and can affirm that the high-bypass turbofans being used today are so much more quiet than the oldies. I still see aircraft passing overhead and can only hear them on a very quiet day. I also see contrails that are smaller and go away faster too. When I hear that old roaring sound in the sky 9/10 chance it's military.
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I grew up out in the country during the 90s and can affirm that the high-bypass turbofans being used today are so much more quiet than the oldies. I still see aircraft passing overhead and can only hear them on a very quiet day. I also see contrails that are smaller and go away faster too. When I hear that old roaring sound in the sky 9/10 chance it's military.
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alainrouleau
Safety has to be put into context. Yes, commercial aviation is safer but it's NOT the same as private aviation. Small planes go down all the time for various reasons which include pilot error, bad weather, etc.
And comparing a commercial airline with professional pilots to a private car and driver on the road is a bit misleading as well.
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Safety has to be put into context. Yes, commercial aviation is safer but it's NOT the same as private aviation. Small planes go down all the time for various reasons which include pilot error, bad weather, etc.
And comparing a commercial airline with professional pilots to a private car and driver on the road is a bit misleading as well.
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chad1755
Airplanes are only statistically safer than cars if you cherry pick the statistics. Yes, AIRLINE travel is safer than cars in a per trip comparison. But there are many more planes flying than just commercial airliners. General Aviation (mostly the small airplanes) has a much higher accident rate than the airline industry.
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Airplanes are only statistically safer than cars if you cherry pick the statistics. Yes, AIRLINE travel is safer than cars in a per trip comparison. But there are many more planes flying than just commercial airliners. General Aviation (mostly the small airplanes) has a much higher accident rate than the airline industry.
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L-Salty
That was a very diplomatic answer about the ATC shortage. There are a multitude of reasons, but in reality, the biggest reason is because most governing bodies of air traffic services have subpar management who are more concerned about costs and profit over adequate staffing and airspace safety.
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That was a very diplomatic answer about the ATC shortage. There are a multitude of reasons, but in reality, the biggest reason is because most governing bodies of air traffic services have subpar management who are more concerned about costs and profit over adequate staffing and airspace safety.
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johnellis5989
Wonderful, knowledgeable post, and nice presentation! Thank you. How come the B-757 is skipped over Many folks are fans of the 757, especially pilots. Nice presentation, though! Also, thinking about Pilot Flying vs. Pilot Monitoring roles, contact me if you'd like. Thank you again.
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Wonderful, knowledgeable post, and nice presentation! Thank you. How come the B-757 is skipped over Many folks are fans of the 757, especially pilots. Nice presentation, though! Also, thinking about Pilot Flying vs. Pilot Monitoring roles, contact me if you'd like. Thank you again.
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ktually
I’m not on Twitter, but I wish you would answer a question
Why don’t more planes have wings mounted on the top of the fuselage it would seem to prevent engine strikes, and make for a simpler connection with the airplane compared with wings mounted halfway up the fuselage
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I’m not on Twitter, but I wish you would answer a question
Why don’t more planes have wings mounted on the top of the fuselage it would seem to prevent engine strikes, and make for a simpler connection with the airplane compared with wings mounted halfway up the fuselage
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br2266
The real reason planes don’t at least have a big parachute for the fuselage is because it’s too good and saves too many lives. If 300 people can be economically killed due to one man’s error, then that helps population control by making travelers weary and not have kids.
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The real reason planes don’t at least have a big parachute for the fuselage is because it’s too good and saves too many lives. If 300 people can be economically killed due to one man’s error, then that helps population control by making travelers weary and not have kids.
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Iconoclasher
When I started working at Garrett AiResearch in 1981 I asked an engineer how the jet engines worked. He said, exactly like your car engine only totally different. Later I understood he was right. In the physics sense it's the same, just accomplished differently.
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When I started working at Garrett AiResearch in 1981 I asked an engineer how the jet engines worked. He said, exactly like your car engine only totally different. Later I understood he was right. In the physics sense it's the same, just accomplished differently.
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leonoza7
when it comes to statistics. what are the chances that out of the 6 Boeing whistle blowers that testified in front of congress this past year. that 2 of them would have tragic endings. one by suicide and one by a lung bacterial infection what are the chances
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when it comes to statistics. what are the chances that out of the 6 Boeing whistle blowers that testified in front of congress this past year. that 2 of them would have tragic endings. one by suicide and one by a lung bacterial infection what are the chances
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