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Flawed: Why the Boeing 737 Max Should Be Permanently Grounded
The Observer ^ | May 17 2019 | Brittain Ladd

Posted on 05/17/2019 12:13:37 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege

The 737 Max is a flawed design. Instead of building a new plane to meet the needs of a specific market, Boeing’s senior executives made the decision to upgrade the 737 in an attempt to get the plane to market sooner to prevent its largest competitor, Airbus, from securing orders for its own aircraft.

When testing revealed that the heavier engines and the forward placement location of the engines on the 737 Max created new and unsafe flight characteristics, did Boeing shut down the program? No. Boeing made the decision to come up with a software fix to force a solution to the fact that the company had pushed the original design of the 737 far past its limit.

Imagine a car company builds a new model that, due to the design, the front of the car points upward when driven faster than 30 miles per hour. To “fix” the problem, the car company increases the weight in the front of the car by 500 pounds. Technically, the car rides more level. However, due to an imbalance in weight between the front and rear of the car, the car can skid sideways when going around corners...

The engineers at the auto company create software that forces the car to drive slower around corners eliminating the issue. Over a period of weeks and months, reports begin to surface that when the car is forced to drive slowly around corners, it’s nearly impossible to steer the car and keep it on the road. “That’s an easy fix,” proclaim the engineers, and software is developed to automatically steer the car around corners...

Unfortunately, in a period of several days, multiple families are killed while driving the car, because for some unknown reason, the car decides to start steering itself without warning...

(Excerpt) Read more at observer.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: 737; 737max; aviation; boeing; faa
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1 posted on 05/17/2019 12:13:37 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Those pesky CEOs and Boards taking shortcuts to maximize stockholder wealth over safety will be the socialists rallying cry. Sarcasm, or is it?


2 posted on 05/17/2019 12:17:43 PM PDT by buckalfa (Earth First! We Will Strip Mine The Other Planets Later !)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege
Sounds like The Observer might be a subsidiary of Airbus.
3 posted on 05/17/2019 12:18:45 PM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Bill Barr:The Bill Belichick of Attorneys General)
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To: Gay State Conservative

Personally I believe this would be best Boeing’s long term health.


4 posted on 05/17/2019 12:21:50 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Confidence is lost. I wouldn’t want to fly one.


5 posted on 05/17/2019 12:23:13 PM PDT by SkyDancer ( ~ Just Consider Me A Random Fact Generator ~ Eat Sleep Fly Repeat ~)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Because it’s computer controlled.


6 posted on 05/17/2019 12:24:18 PM PDT by Telepathic Intruder
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To: buckalfa

I think Boeing needs new leadership for its own sake and long term outlook of our economy and trade, which is heavily reliant upon Boeing.


7 posted on 05/17/2019 12:25:26 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

I don’t know, Southwest Airlines have logged more than 40,000 flights without an issue. I definitely will never fly Ethiopian Airlines.


8 posted on 05/17/2019 12:25:57 PM PDT by microgood
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Hogwash. Does anyone remember DC-9 crashes from collapsing Nose Gears?
FIX - Don’t land the nose wheel before the main gear.
Boeing is correcting the problem and Boeing CEO is flying on the revised aircraft !


9 posted on 05/17/2019 12:27:27 PM PDT by TNoldman (AN AMERICAN FOR A MUSLIM/BHO FREE AMERICA. (Owner of Stars and Bars Flags))
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To: CondoleezzaProtege
If you want to know the truth?

Check Out Juan Brown's 737Max YouTube playlist

for the best in depth analysis of

this issue anywhere

7

10 posted on 05/17/2019 12:29:38 PM PDT by infool7 (Observe, Orient, Pray, Decide, Act!(it's an OOPDA loop))
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To: CondoleezzaProtege
This article is simply one person's opinion.

FTA: The MCAS is designed to counteract the tendency of the nose on 737 Max jets to point up due to heavier engines being mounted in a more forward position on the wing than in previous versions of the 737.

This statement shows that the author is absolutely clueless WRT basic aerodynamics.

Moving the engines forward increases longitudinal stability.

Boeing certainly made a lot of mistakes in fielding the MAX.

Authors like this should be disregarded.

11 posted on 05/17/2019 12:31:25 PM PDT by FtrPilot
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To: FtrPilot

They should have invested the time and money in building a new innovative plane with the long term in mind — and not develop such a warped business ethic in the process of rushing to get the MAX approved with all its inherent risks and liabilities.


12 posted on 05/17/2019 12:35:16 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: Gay State Conservative

Sounds like The Observer might be a subsidiary of Airbus.


If you read the article as well as research the subject you would see that they actually presented a complicated subject not only fairly but in a way most should be able to understand.

When this all first came up, I (not knowing anything about planes or about the history of the 737) did a little research.

I was surprised to discover that the 737 is a very old aircraft (design). Boeing began making changes, which caused problems which then required more changes and so on.

It is now an airplane that no longer matches the design of the original.

So while I am not an engineer it is clear (to me) the current design for the 737 Max is flawed and may be beyond fixing (without causing more problems and more deaths).

If Boeing does not ground the aircraft the lawsuits will, especially if there is another crash.


13 posted on 05/17/2019 12:36:18 PM PDT by CIB-173RDABN (I am not an expert in anything, and my opinion is just that, an opinion. I may be wrong.)
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To: infool7; CondoleezzaProtege

I’m sorry, that came out funny,

I just wish I hadn’t drunk all that cough syrup this morning.

7


14 posted on 05/17/2019 12:36:35 PM PDT by infool7 (Observe, Orient, Pray, Decide, Act!(it's an OOPDA loop))
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Too soon to say whether the plane is unsafe at any speed.


15 posted on 05/17/2019 12:38:29 PM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: infool7

Thanks I just flew on a Boeing a few days ago and will be in a few days again. Not as a pilo, but passenger obviously :) . I am saving the Juan Brown video for viewing later.


16 posted on 05/17/2019 12:38:38 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: 1Old Pro

Boeing has called 737 Max 8 “not suitable” for certain high-elevation airports like Denver

https://www.denverpost.com/2019/04/11/boeing-737-max-8-denver-airport/


17 posted on 05/17/2019 12:41:00 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

The author sounds a bit gay.


18 posted on 05/17/2019 12:42:40 PM PDT by BobL (I eat at McDonald's and shop at Walmart - I just don't tell anyone.)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

There’s only one solution outside to scrapping the 737 design altogether for an all-new plane (a process that could cost tens of billions of dollars): replace the current wing with an all-new wing with raked wingtips (similar to that of the newer 777 models and the 787) better matched to the larger LEAP-1B engine.


19 posted on 05/17/2019 12:43:19 PM PDT by RayChuang88 (FairTax: America's Economic Cure)
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To: BobL

I don’t see how expecting better designs and models from Boeing is a bad thing.


20 posted on 05/17/2019 12:44:15 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
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