Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
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By Paul_Sengupta
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1671164
condor17 wrote:It was lucky that on a walk around , that I noticed one winglet was missing . Can we go like this ? MEL says ok ; but ask for an engineer .... Reluctantly one came out to explain that speedtaping over the gaps and open parts was Not needed.


Don't the passengers get a little concerned when part of the wing appears to be missing?
By ChrisRowland
#1671211
It's fairly tricky to see both sides from the back.
But when I was on a 747 out of Boston for LHR I saw the rear of a panel by the inner aileron lift by about six inches as we took off. Obviously not attached.
As the speed increased it settled back down so wouldn't have been a problem until landing. Didn't fancy returning to Boston and it had got dark so couldn't be seen. Waited a bit then talked to one of the cabin crew who got one of the flight crew to talk to me. I described what I saw, including diagrams on napkins.
Obviously not a serious problem and I heard nothing more, which seemed a shame. I would have appreciated hearing, just a thanks and yes, you were right, there was a broken bit, it's fixed now.
#1672131
mmcp42 wrote:did we ever find out why one winglet good, zero winglets bad?


I remember you putting that question Mike . And I haven't a bloody clue ! The only pointer I can think of is that one has to bear in mind that AMM's/Mel's are probably compiled with at least as much Boeing lawyer input as Boeing engineer input.

Flying without winglets definitely has no safety implications . It'll just use more fuel . But in reality , you will only need to remove a winglet if it's been clobbered .

And to paraphrase Oscar Wilde ; To clobber one winglet is just bad luck . To clobber both of them is probably a sacking offence . [ sorry :oops: ]
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By condor17
#1673442
Maybe because Boeing never tested that config ...to save money in certification flights ... as the chance of both out is low ?
Therefore if not tested , it's not approved .. Thus we don't do it , unless force majeure' .
rgds condor
User avatar
By Human Factor
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1673481
condor17 wrote:Maybe because Boeing never tested that config ...to save money in certification flights ... as the chance of both out is low ?
Therefore if not tested , it's not approved .. Thus we don't do it , unless force majeure' .
rgds condor


Probably true, although they certified the -400SR without winglets.
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