Mon Mar 11, 2019 7:34 pm
#1681091
Basically the problem is that as they’ve lengthened the aircraft and added larger diameter engines, the aircraft’s pitch stability has become an issue. At high angles of stack the engine nacelles themselves create lift forward of the CG, causing the aircraft to pitch up into a stall with no pilot input. This is obviously streng verboten in the certification requirements hence MCAS. Stability augmentation isn’t a new thing - the 737 already has a speed trim system and a Mach trim system from the early days, it’s just the new one is subject to some nasty falure modes, about which some duff assumptions were made, and nobody thought it was important to tell the crews flying it anything about it.
Boeing have been dumbing down their manuals for years now, which is a great frustration to more technically minded types who have to rely on getting hold of a copy of the maintenance manual to discover how things actually work! Airbus by contrast have system logic diagrams that make my head hurt.
Boeing have been dumbing down their manuals for years now, which is a great frustration to more technically minded types who have to rely on getting hold of a copy of the maintenance manual to discover how things actually work! Airbus by contrast have system logic diagrams that make my head hurt.
I work for the company, but hey, don't let that fool you. I'm really an OK guy...