Cracks force inspection of entire A380 fleet

steingar

steingar

Taxi to Parking
Joined
Feb 6, 2007
Messages
29,248
Location
Land of Savages
Display Name
Display name:
steingar
Cracks in the rudder feet (attach points between the wing ribs and skin) have inspectors examining the 60 superjumbo Airbus A380 Jets that have been put into service. Bad design, shoddy manufacturing, or teething problems?

Link
 
Think there's already a thread on this back when the Aussies found it.
 
Apartment buildings weren't meant to fly through the air ....
 
That's exactly why I didn't buy one of these.:nono:

José
 
Ah, just put some diamond patches on 'em and call it a day.
 
At what point does an airplane become so big and heavy that it's just not going to be mechanically sensible in the real world?
 
I love when the 380's come into JFK and dump 500 people at one shot into immigration, Have them sit on the plane for 8 hours, wait in immigration 2 hours.
 
fgcason said:
At what point does an airplane become so big and heavy that it's just not going to be mechanically sensible in the real world?
Click to expand...

I always think this myself....I mean, there MUST be a limit. The demands we put on aircraft keep getting more and more, but the laws of physics will not bend around our needs for fast, mass transit.
 
It's big. Woo.

IMO, unnecessarily big and with some of the other woes of the A380 and Airbussen in general, I try to avoid 'em. Enough so that I did check to see what equipment my parents' upcoming flight to NZ was, and felt a lot better when it was a Boeing.
 
Prediction: 787 will fight with these problems with composites too. They already are, actually. I mean worse.
 
Ya think TSA would get rattled if you showed up with a parachute.:dunno::dunno::D...

You could probably talk them into it by saying your name is................... Mrs. D.B.Cooper.:D:rofl::wink2:
 
N801BH said:
Ya think TSA would get rattled if you showed up with a parachute.:dunno::dunno::D...

You could probably talk them into it by saying your name is................... Mrs. D.B.Cooper.:D:rofl::wink2:
Click to expand...

I watched a guy get booted from a US Air flight a few years ago. The final straw? He said his name was Dan Cooper. He'd been a pain for some time and that did it. The FA booted him before they closed the door.
 
Ghery said:
I watched a guy get booted from a US Air flight a few years ago. The final straw? He said his name was Dan Cooper. He'd been a pain for some time and that did it. The FA booted him before they closed the door.
Click to expand...

Ghery-- you and Scott must have been on one already. What did you think of it?
 
I can answer that...

Biggest School Bus Evahhhh! All the cool kids sit in the upper deck. :)

(No I haven't been on one, just being a smart ass.)
 
I suspect a flight on an A380 will be similar to one on any other jet, featuring lack of space and small indignities, with luck not punctuated by extreme terror and flaming death.

The cracks were reported to be in the "rib feet", which I gather are the attach points between the ribs and the skin. Could be a teething problem.

Boeing will have to overcome far more to get it's composite Dreamliner to market. However, that will assist it in developing the industrial expertise to handle composites, which will give them a cutting edge in the years to come. Airbus' expertise in handling larger structures will amount to far less. The A380 itself is quite limited in the routes in which it can be used.
 
TommyG said:
I love when the 380's come into JFK and dump 500 people at one shot into immigration, Have them sit on the plane for 8 hours, wait in immigration 2 hours.
Click to expand...

That's what Global Entry is for.

woodstock said:
Oh boy. Hope my flight to Paris isnt on one of them.
Click to expand...

If it's AF out of Dulles, then you will be on one. AF dumped 2x daily service out of IAD and replaced it with 1x on the 380.

Friend of mine is currently on a trip that involves Emirates 380s in First class, which has shower spas on board. He relates that it's very, very nice.
 
I flew to the UK recently and was relieved that my trip across the pond was in a good ol Boeing 767.
 
dell30rb said:
I flew to the UK recently and was relieved that my trip across the pond was in a good ol Boeing 767.
Click to expand...


Maybe you don't remember Lauda Air Flight 004, which I believe grounded, or at least prompted inspections, of all 767s for a bit. I'm not trying to be a wiseass, just saying that one can probably find that all planes have had a problem at one time or another. I remember that shortly after the two 737 accidents -- one in Pittsburgh and one in Colorado Springs -- that baffled investigators, I was afraid to fly on 737s, which probably have one of the better safety records.

One of the things that concerns me with the A380 and the Dreamliner is that the whole experience with the reliance on composite materials is relatively new. I think it's easier to detect cracks, or fatigue, in metal than in composites, but I could be wrong. I'm certainly no expert! That said, I'm scheduled to fly a Flight Design CTLS tomorrow, sort of a poor man's Dreamliner (or in my case, a poor woman's)!:D
 
Recently we flew from LA to Sydney on a 747 outbound and 380 return.
In Cattle Class the 380 was less comfortable for those of us at 6'.

The video / electronics were better on the 380.

15.5 hours in any plane is more than enough. Use those air miles and upgrade to business on anything longer that 6 hours if possible.

Still partial to Boeing -- disclosure: 2000 hours in a Buff at 12 hours each flight has made me biased. :wink2:
 
Eagle I said:
Maybe you don't remember Lauda Air Flight 004, which I believe grounded, or at least prompted inspections, of all 767s for a bit. I'm not trying to be a wiseass, just saying that one can probably find that all planes have had a problem at one time or another. I remember that shortly after the two 737 accidents -- one in Pittsburgh and one in Colorado Springs -- that baffled investigators, I was afraid to fly on 737s, which probably have one of the better safety records.

One of the things that concerns me with the A380 and the Dreamliner is that the whole experience with the reliance on composite materials is relatively new. I think it's easier to detect cracks, or fatigue, in metal than in composites, but I could be wrong. I'm certainly no expert! That said, I'm scheduled to fly a Flight Design CTLS tomorrow, sort of a poor man's Dreamliner (or in my case, a poor woman's)!:D
Click to expand...
Not as new as you think... The 777 and others have large amounts of composites in them. That's what gave Boeing and Airbus the confidence to use them much more extensively in the next generation.

Both the 380 and the 787 (like major decisions before them) are "bet the company" airplanes. Neither Boeing nor Airbus ever make a "wouldn't it be cool if"-driven choice.

I'm really looking forward to see how Boeing's "no bleed-air" design works out too.
 
I'm not quite the "Boeing or I ain't going" type, but I'm not a big fan of airbus's aircraft or airbus as a company. The shady stuff that went on before and after AF296 is more than enough to make me a skeptic of their commitment to safety.

That, and there's a reason airbus has been nicknamed "scarebus." ;)
 
TMetzinger said:
Not as new as you think... The 777 and others have large amounts of composites in them. That's what gave Boeing and Airbus the confidence to use them much more extensively in the next generation.

Both the 380 and the 787 (like major decisions before them) are "bet the company" airplanes. Neither Boeing nor Airbus ever make a "wouldn't it be cool if"-driven choice.

I'm really looking forward to see how Boeing's "no bleed-air" design works out too.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, Tim. I'm glad to hear airlines are not basing their decisions on "wouldn't-it-be-cool" scenarios! And sorry, but I don't know what you mean by "no bleed-air."
 
matthammer said:
I'm not quite the "Boeing or I ain't going" type, but I'm not a big fan of airbus's aircraft or airbus as a company. The shady stuff that went on before and after AF296 is more than enough to make me a skeptic of their commitment to safety.

That, and there's a reason airbus has been nicknamed "scarebus." ;)
Click to expand...


According to Wikipedia (I know, not always the most reliable source!), the A340 has NEVER been involved in a fatal crash. I don't think you could make a similar claim for any Boeing model. By the way, I have no stake in either Airbus or Boeing. I've flown them both frequently, and both have their merits. As most of us here know, it's more the training of the pilots that counts!
 
patrick wentworth said:
Recently we flew from LA to Sydney on a 747 outbound and 380 return.
In Cattle Class the 380 was less comfortable for those of us at 6'.

The video / electronics were better on the 380.

15.5 hours in any plane is more than enough. Use those air miles and upgrade to business on anything longer that 6 hours if possible.

Still partial to Boeing -- disclosure: 2000 hours in a Buff at 12 hours each flight has made me biased. :wink2:
Click to expand...

Over Christmas I went to SE Asia, took a United 747-400 from ORD to HKG, 15 hour run up over the pole. Not bad, but it was a tired airplane ( interior wise)

Came back on a B767 (HKG to NRT) and a B777 (NRT to IAH) both were very nice rides.
 
Last edited:
i'm more of a "if an available airline isn't going, i'm not going" type.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top