'I would never fly on it':

Australian aviation expert condemns Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft involved in Ethiopian Airlines plane crash - after it was revealed Virgin Australia has ordered 30 of them

An Australian aviation expert is refusing to fly on the Boeing aircraft involved in two devastating crashes less than six months apart.

Boeing's 737 Max 8 jets were involved in both crashes - a Lion Air flight slamming into the Java Sea in October and an Ethiopian Airlines service crashing shortly after take-off in Addis Ababa on Sunday. A total of 338 people were killed.

Virgin Australia has ordered a fleet of 30 Max 8 jets due to arrive in November, and two airlines that currently use the planes in Australia - SilkAir and Fiji Airways - have said they will continue to do so.

Strategic Aviation Solutions Chairman Neil Hansford declared he 'certainly would not' fly on the model after the two disasters.

Mr Hansford claimed Boeing could do more to provide information about the plane's new anti-stall device, known as the Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System.

'The MCAS takes the control of the aircraft off the pilot if it thinks the plane is going to stall,' he told the Daily Telegraph.

He said the Boeing manual mentions the MCAS briefly at the back, with no detailed instructions.

Mr Hansford believed the plane had 'unstable vertical speed' due to the pilot having to fight against the model's internal computer.

'There are two switches to turn it off but clearly the pilot did not know where they were,' he said.

Virgin Independent Pilots Association president Captain John Lyons said Virgin pilots had 'utmost confidence' in the Boeing 737.

Singapore Airlines affiliate SilkAir operates the aircraft on flights between Singapore, Cairns and Darwin.

'Safety is our top priority and we are currently monitoring the situation closely,' a Singapore Airlines spokesperson told the ABC.

Meanwhile, a witness claims the Nairobi-bound Ethopian Airlines jet that crashed killing all 157 passengers and crew members on board had 'smoke pouring from the rear'.

Gebeyehu Fikadu said he saw flight ET302 'swerving and dipping' while 'luggage and clothes came burning down' when it crashed within minutes of take-off from Addis Ababa on Sunday morning.

Experts have highlighted 'similarities' between the tragedies in October and on Sunday.

Indonesia and China have grounded all Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft while U.S. officials said they would take 'immediate action' if they found safety flaws in the planes.

Ethiopian Airlines and Cayman Airways have also taken the jets out of service.

As Ethiopia marked a day of mourning and the search for remains entered a second day, rescuers said they had recovered the aircraft's black box which is expected to shed light on the cause of the crash.

Ben Hill For Daily Mail Australia 12/03/2019
https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/world/i- ... ar-BBUItKJ

And than there is still the Boeing 787 Dreamliner competing with Airbus A350

The Boeing 787 vs The Airbus A350 – What Plane Is Best?
By Nicholas October 22, 2018

You can’t name a more competitive pair of companies than Boeing and Airbus, and they are forever trying to out do each other around the world.

Boeing is currently schmoozing Korean Air with 777X’s whilst Airbus sneaks around china tempting Boeing clients.

Both have flagship planes, and none is more published than the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the Airbus A350.

But which is the best? Let’s find out.

Which has been more popular?
Judging by the pure sale numbers of the two types (Boeing 787 at 1,398 orders and over 700 delivered / Airbus A350 at 890 orders and 203 deliveries), we can see that the industry prefers the Boeing 787.

But as there are three variants of the 787 and only two of the A350, one has to take this as a grain of salt. Plus, the Boeing 787 started deliveries in 2011, three years before the Airbus A350.

So whilst Boeing has been first to market, has Airbus been able to improve on their original concept?

How will we compare the planes?

We will rank the two planes on several different factors in the chart below. We will think from the mindset of an airline, were business and profit is key. Whilst one of the planes might have a cool feature unless it makes an improvement financially, then it will be ignored.

We will also be comparing the most modern versions, the 787-10 vs A350-1000.

What is rather fun is that the Airbus being European will be measured in metric units, and Boeing being from the United States will be in imperial. Thus there is a lot of converting and we have tried to match up units as best as possible.

Airbus vs Boeing

Some critics might suggest its better to compare the Boeing 777X vs the Airbus A350-1000, but as the 777X does not fly yet it would not be a fair test.

Boeing 787 vs Airbus A350
Let’s compare them head to head.

Model Airbus A350-1000 Boeing 787-10
Cockpit crew Two Two
Seating, 2-class 366/369 (54B+315Y) 330 (32B + 298Y)
Seating, 1-class 387 440
Max capacity 440 440
Overall length 73.78 m / 242.7 ft 224 ft (68.28 m)
Wing 64.75 m / 212.43 ft span 197 ft 3 in (60.12 m) span
Overall height 17.08 m / 56 ft 0 in 55 ft 10 in (17.02 m)
Fuselage 5.96 m / 19.7 ft width, 6.09 m / 19.98 ft height 18 ft 11 in (5.77 m), height: 19 ft 6 in (5.94 m)
Cabin width 5.61 m / 18 ft 5 in 18 ft 0 in (5.49 m)
Fuel capacity 158,791 L (41,948 US gal) 33,384 US gal / 126,372 L
124,651 kg (274,808 lb) 223,673 lb / 101,456 kg
Cargo capacity 44 LD3 or 14 pallets 40 LD3 or 13 (96×125) pallets
Speed (Cruise + Max) Cruise: Mach 0.85 (488 kn; 903 km/h)
Max: Mach 0.89 (513 kn; 950 km/h) Cruise: Mach 0.85 (488 kn; 903 km/h)
Max: Mach 0.90 (516 kn; 956 km/h);
Range 15,600 km / 8,400 nmi 11,910 km / 6,430 nmi
Takeoff (MTOW, SL, ISA) 2,600 m (8,500 ft) 9,100 ft (2,800 m)
Service ceiling 41,450 ft (12,630 m) 43,000 ft (13,100 m)
Engines (2×) Rolls-Royce Trent XWB General Electric GEnx-1B or Rolls-Royce Trent 1000
Maximum thrust 431.5 kN / 97,000 lbf 76,000 lbf (340 kN)
Let’s break down each item:

Seating: In a two-class configuration, the Airbus A350 can handle more passengers than the Boeing. Apparently, they can fix the same maximum amount on board, however, and realistically, neither would operate with 440 on board. Winner: Airbus A350

Cabin Size: Thanks to the bigger size of the plane, the Airbus A350 has an extra 10cm on board for passengers to enjoy. Naturally, this is almost inconsequential so we will say Draw.

Fuel Capacity: The Airbus has larger fuel tanks than the Boeing, as per its larger range (see below). Winner: Airbus A350

Cargo Capacity: Despite the Airbus being bigger than the Boeing, they both have roughly the same cargo capacity. Draw.

Speed: This is where it gets interesting. Whilst both the planes cruise at the same time, Boeing 787 can actually fly faster than the Airbus. Getting to their destination quicker and thus earning themselves a win. Winner: Boeing 787

Range: The A350-1000 has a bigger range than the Boeing 787-10. However, the smaller Boeing 787-9 has a range of 7,635 nmi (14,140 km) and thus is almost equal to Airbus. This is a hard win to give away. Winner: Airbus A350

Runway take off length: Turns out, the bigger plane can deliver more takeoff thrust and thus take off from a shorter runway. Winner: Airbus A350

What about maintenance and fuel efficiency?

The Boeing 787-9

It is an open secret that the Boeing 787 is by far the most fuel efficient plane on the market. Below is a graph that ranks the fuel efficiency of each aircraft comparatively, however the fuel efficiency of the Boeing 787-10 and Airbus A350-1000 are not present (From 2016).

To compare the Boeing 787-9 vs the Airbus A350-900 over 6,500 miles (Study in 2013):
Boeing: 2.81 L/100 km (84 mpg)
Airbus: 3.08 L/100 km (76 mpg)

The big advantage to the A350-900 is it can also fly much further and with a larger payload than the 787-9. Once the 787-9 is at maximum fuel load for it to fly further you must start to reduce payload. 1000nm past this point the A350-900 can carry TWICE the payload weight of the 787-9. – RJMAZ – Airliners.net

Per seat, the Boeing 787-10 would come out ahead of the A350-1000, but as the A350 can carry more passengers, this may negate any savings made.

Additionally, because of all the technology and new features, the Boeing 787 has been running into engine problems, having to be replaced by an Airbus A380, or an Airbus A340.

Who is the best?
Just from reading above you would realize that the Airbus A350 has the 787 beat in passenger numbers, range and fuel capacity, whilst the Boeing just gets there a little faster.

However, this is one last area we have not compared, Price.

787-10: US$325.8 million (2018)
A350-1000: US$366.5 million (2018)

As you can see, the Boeing 787 is cheaper. If you are an airline that is not flying over the max distance of the 787, between smaller destinations that do not have the capacity for a larger plane (Such as a Boeing 777) then all you care about is price and speed.

And you bet Boeing will give you a great discount if you order more than one, beating out any possible discount Airbus could provide. Plus, with the savings brought by these two planes on fuel consumption, you are guaranteed to start earning more faster with the Boeing.

A perfect example would be a US domestic carrier like United or Delta.

So who is the real winner? Depends on what you need it for.

Saudi Arabia reconsiders purchase of 30 737 max as the world reconsiders Saudi Arabia after murdering Kashoggi.

Saudi ban on Boeing MAX flights to continue for near future: minister

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has no immediate plans to allow Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to operate in the kingdom, its transport minister said on Monday, as state airline flyadeal potentially reconsiders an order for the jets.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethi ... SKCN1RD1SK

Update.
It seems that Boeing's, the FAA's and Trumps response to the issues with this plane has caused aviation authorities all over the world to loose faith in what was one of the most highly respected regulatory regimes ever.

An inevitable result of corporate "self regulation".
And of Trumpianism generally.

"Australia may ban Boeing 737 Max even if US gives it all-clear.
Casa had been sharing information with other regulators including the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and the Canadian regulator, Transport Canada, both of which have said they will do their own assessments of the Max
National aviation safety bodies usually accept the decision of a manufacturer’s home regulator – in this case the FAA – but the deadly Max crashes have raised concerns the US authority failed to properly oversee Boeing"

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... -all-clear

It is highly doubtful that you and your colleagues fly 737s.

Because it is much more likely that you and your colleagues are on a barstool having a liquid lunch and are chasing hookers. I know I am!

Not to mention that 737s are grounded. Worldwide.

Artfarty wrote: ↑Sat Sep 21, 2019 10:25 am Because it is much more likely that you and your colleagues are on a barstool having a liquid lunch and are chasing hookers. I know I am!

lol
Make up your mind, High Art.
Aviation expert
Or 10.30 am barfly having a liquid lunch and chasing hookers.
You can't be both. Obviously.


(oh, except of course, if you are a freightdog too)