[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by A350XWB

No, the 747-8 (and not 747-800) is not FBW. It has Fly-by-wire spoilers and outboard ailerons to save weight. (Reference). This was done to reduce development costs as it was an incremental development from the 747-400. A new control system layout would have been expensive for Boeing.
The only FBW commercial aircrafts from Boeing are the 777 and 787.

Correct, so its part FBW.

Apparently, It wasn’t just to reduce the development cost, Boeing wanted to ensure a common type rating for the 747-400 and the 747-8. Which reduces operational cost for the airlines.

One of the requirements is that they have similar handling characteristics. The 747-8 does differ substantially from the 747-400 and if would not have been possible to get the same handling characteristics by means of conventional controls. With this part-FBW they could tweet it to feel just like a 747-400. I’m not sure if the common type rating was eventually granted. There is more to it than just this aspect.

Jeroen

[A350XWB]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I’m not sure if the common type rating was eventually granted. There is more to it than just this aspect.

Jeroen, from the same article I shared in the previous post - "Boeing designed the newest 747-8 model to have as much commonality as possible with the 747-400 while also incorporating advanced technology from the 787. For example, the 747-8 and 747-400 have the same type rating and ground-support equipment. Flight handling characteristics of the 747-8 are also very similar to the 747-400."

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by A350XWB

Jeroen, from the same article I shared in the previous post - "Boeing designed the newest 747-8 model to have as much commonality as possible with the 747-400 while also incorporating advanced technology from the 787. For example, the 747-8 and 747-400 have the same type rating and ground-support equipment. Flight handling characteristics of the 747-8 are also very similar to the 747-400."

Thanks, I was looking for that, but I must have overlooked it. So they do have a common type rating. There was a discussion some time ago on PPRUNE. I was surprised to read how it all worked and it wasn’t as straight forward as one might think.

No type rating for me as PPL pilot. I can fly anything, from a Cessna 150 to a Cirrus 22 on the same license. (whether it’s very smart to hop from plane to plane is a different matter, but it would be legal.)


Jeroen

[SmartCat]

Beluga Whale makes a hard crosswind landing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=roS6oFjCDhc

Article:
https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/viral-e...-lateststories

[condor]

Not related to the 777, but came across this video of a crash testing of an aircraft !

https://www.facebook.com/ThePilotSmi...6175052661327/

That ID " The Pilot " posts quite a few interesting clips.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by condor

Not related to the 777, but came across this video of a crash testing of an aircraft !

.

I’m wondering what they were testing? Landing on sand isn’t all that likely a scenario.

Jeroen

[condor]

Sand or land. Or Water. Kind of moot point, one would say. But FAA would know better.

[sooraj.naik]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I’m wondering what they were testing? Landing on sand isn’t all that likely a scenario.

Jeroen

This was filmed for a TV program. Wikipage article : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_B...ash_experiment

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by condor

Sand or land. Or Water. Kind of moot point, one would say. But FAA would know better.

It wasn’t a FAA test. I don’t think it’s a moot point at all. Sand, water, land will cause substantially different forces and reactions on a plane.

Originally Posted by sooraj.naik

This was filmed for a TV program. Wikipage article : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_B...ash_experiment

thanks for that link, that helps. Although, to be very honest, I find the information very flimsy. I mean, why did they choose this particular piece of sand to land, this vertical speed etc. In order to draw some meaningful conclusion you need to be able to understand how the test conditions represent or can be correlated to real life situations.

And there is already a wealth of statistical data available on “the safest seat in case of a crash, based on real aviation accidenst (and some testing/modelling).

And by and large they come up with the exact same answers for this sort of controlled crashes.

Jeroen

[libranof1987]

This isn't 777 specific but a very interesting article.

Finnair apparently "weighed" India-bound passengers and their carry-on luggage at Helsinki. This is being done to update their fuel management calculations.

Not sure if this is being done by other carriers, at other airports, for other demographics.

But frankly, it makes sense. Passengers routinely sneak in much more than the 7kg carry-on baggage allotted and then a purse/laptop bag. All that adds up significantly; further, the average person weight assumption must be different from when it was last calculated.

Good idea to reset the benchmark of what the on-board passenger/luggage weight is for fuel calculations.

The European carrier, which has six and two flights a week to Delhi and Goa respectively, as its current India operations, has started collecting data at Helsinki airport "on passenger and carry-on luggage weights to update data that is used for aircraft load calculations". Aircraft weight is among the key factors used to correctly determine the amount of fuelling required for different flights.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/61513680.cms

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

This is being done to update their fuel management calculations.

Good idea to reset the benchmark of what the on-board passenger/luggage weight is for fuel calculations.

It will be interesting to see what they find. All Carriers use average weight for passengers as well as their hand luggage. Not sure if those are regulated (i.e. the regulating body, such as FAA, determines the numbers)

Although I’m sure demographics does play a role (Say 300 Americans would typically weigh more then 300 Japanese), I’m not sure what the practical application of knowing the demographic ‘weight spread’ would be.

I don’t think we will see different average passenger weight per route or so. To much room for error.

On the little planes I fly we just ask everybody for their weight. Which, when flying with women passenger leaves some feeling a bit awkward. But weight is very important, not only for range (and thus how much fuel to take) but it also determines the plane centre of gravity. Get it wrong and you might not get of the ground.

Occasionally, especially if a plane is half full, once boarding is complete, the cabin crew might request some passenger to move to different seats. All because of centre of gravity.

Jeroen

[condor]

Question to the Pilots
In case of landing gear failure like the JetBlue flight landing with it's front wheel stuck at angle - what happens to the runway ? The flight landed with front wheel at 90 degree, and burned out after it touched down. Does the runway get damaged un-usably ? Or usage can continue ?

[honeybee]

If the runway is damaged / scratched so to speak, I don't think flights will be allowed to land on it till it is repaired.

Another plane's nose wheel might get stuck into the rut and cause another accident. When landing on the ground at speeds upwards of 120kmph, the last thing you want is a scratch through which you need to drive.

[honeybee]

Here is something interesting I came across:

https://youtu.be/2cSh_Wo_mcY

Any pilots can throw more light on this?

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I don’t think we will see different average passenger weight per route or so. To much room for error.

On the little planes I fly we just ask everybody for their weight.

Your post reminded me of a TV program I watched couple of years ago, was able to find reference online .

Here, demographics taken for calculating average weight was same. However, the weight calculated was less than actual, since the sample taken for arriving at 'average weight' was few years old. During these years, average weight of population has increased.

Link 1

Link 2