[xUT]

BoeingBoy, on 20 January 2012 - 05:31 PM, said:

I'm a little concerned that this might be the end result of computer design. Designers and engineers can now design airplanes with very little margin over that required for certification. Gone are the days of making the planes stronger if there was any doubt. There's a story about the DC-3, which had the wings bolted together outboard of the engines using a couple of hundred bolts on each side. Supposedly there were worries among some potential customers about the strength of using bolts instead of a continuous wing spar so Donald Douglass had mechanics remove all but 3 of the bolts and flew the airplane through a set of maneuvers, erasing all doubt about the strength of the wing. Nowadays, if the computer said the dc3 needed 2.985 bolts to be strong enough, only 3 would be used instead of the hundreds Douglas put in.

Jim

IIRC, critical flight components (engine, hydraulics, etc...) used to have a design failure rate (FEMA Analysis) of 1:to the -10th mantissa. Overbuilt but the technology created many robust fail safe systems.
After the UA BK and maintenance programs were reduced through 'proof' of no failures, my confidence has waned somewhat as maintenance programs were lengthened.

(PS, I worked on C47's (DC3) sometimes and almost needed a climbing rope to reach the cockpit... )

Then I find this: It's never been safer to fly; deaths at record low

xUT

[tech2101]

This is breaking news on CNN right now. Don't know if they are reporting anything new yet.

[BoeingBoy]

xUT, on 22 January 2012 - 04:12 PM, said:

Then I find this: It's never been safer to fly; deaths at record low

The line between safety and cost is like the edge of a cliff and everyone is standing on the edge with a blindfold on. Take one step in the wrong direction and it's too late - the damage is done. A few accidents due to putting a toe over the line and those statistics reverse.

Quote

(PS, I worked on C47's (DC3) sometimes and almost needed a climbing rope to reach the cockpit... )

The neatest thing about flying it was taxiing in places like ORD and looking over the top of the fuselage of DC9's, 727's and 737's...made you feel like you were flying a big airplane...then ya go somewhere like JFK and feel like a gnat among elephants...

Jim