Question raised by Capt. Skjerven
David W.
Skjerven dwskjerven@aol.com
I have a
question: What kind of deicing
fluid does Delta now use?
I just got back from North Dakota the other
day due to a family funeral. For the trip back to ORD via MSP I nonreved
on Delta's early morning flight out of Fargo, ND. We boarded and then
pushed back to be deiced due to some frost on the wings. We waited a
little bit and then the Captain came on and said "that due to the outside
air temperature Delta's deicing fluid could not be used." It was 30
below zero and the Captain said that it had to be 28 below zero before the
fluid could be applied and work. ??? In my career I don't remember
anything about a minimum temperature for deicing fluid. Meanwhile,
American pushes back and then United push back and they both deice (at 30
below) and go on their merry way on time.
It took over 3 hours for the OAT to rise to
28 below so that we could be deiced.
So what kind of deicing fluid is Delta
using? David W. Skjerven
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
David
L. Roberts robertsDL@mindspring.com
A
friend forwarded this to me and it's an interesting, though unofficial, point
by point explanation of that flight and the conversations between the
helicopter and the FAA Air Traffic Controllers. It's an 8 and a half
minute video.
Dave
Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2020 04:57:04 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: Fwd: Kobe Bryant Accident Part 4
Dave
Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2020 04:57:04 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: Fwd: Kobe Bryant Accident Part 4
The
last 1/4 of video is possible birds eye view.
Excellent
overview of possible flight path and weather problems associated with the
crash.
See:
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From: jjfitz167@gmail.com
Sent: 2/14/2020 4:01:11 PM Central Standard Time
Subject: Fwd: A Piece of History
Sent: 2/14/2020 4:01:11 PM Central Standard Time
Subject: Fwd: A Piece of History
All across the USA, 70-foot concrete arrows can be found in remote locations
They come
courtesy of the US Postal Service’s Air Force and will point you all the way
across the continental United States.
They were
constructed in 1924 to guide postal planes in the right direction as they
carried mail from coast to coast.
These old
planes couldn’t rely on radio much of the time, so they used
these
arrows, along with beacon towers, to navigate.
The arrows
and beacons bisect the United States from San Francisco to New York City.
The towers
were 50 feet tall and fixed with gas lights that could be seen from
10 miles away in order to help lost pilots find their way. This is a model of
the arrows and towers in their heyday.
World War II
brought new advances in radio technology that effectively made the towers and
arrows system obsolete. The towers were mostly dismantled.
There has
been an effort to restore and preserve some of them, like this one in New
Mexico complete with its generator shac k
This is a
pretty cool piece of history, even if it was short lived. To think of
those early postal pilots navigating like this from coast to coast is mind
boggling.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
That is one big hunk of composite! (I was
going to say iron, but thought better of it)
Tony P
Life is Good
In God We Trust
Boeing's huge 777-9X airplane takes its first flight
26
January 2020
Aerial emotions: "It was so much fun," said Chaney, the
pilot-in-command and 777/777X chief test pilot. "The moment we rotated and
saw the chase plane go by, it was very emotional."
Everett, Washington (CNN)
— The world's longest and largest
twin-engine airliner, the Boeing 777-9X, has finally taken to the skies for its
maiden flight, offering a ray of hope for the troubled US aviation company
following months of grim headlines. After days of abysmal weather, airplane WH-001 took from Paine
Field, home of Boeing's wide-body factory, north of Seattle, on Saturday
morning.
The flight had been postponed
twice earlier in the week because of poor conditions, but as the aircraft taxied
past the press viewing area, a rainbow appeared.
When the moment did finally arrive, WH-001 was greeted by a light 8
knot tailwind, 6 miles visibility, and broken clouds at 3,000 feet as it
rocketed down runway 34Left at 9:08 a.m. local time. After a takeoff roll of just 30 seconds, the behemoth rotated
gracefully into the skies. The relieved and excited crowd
erupted into thunderous applause.
Long road to certification
Designed to carry up to 425
passengers on routes of 7,600 nautical miles -- a distance that would cover
most long-haul routes -- the 777-9X is expected to become one of Boeing's key
aircraft in the years ahead.
Once airborne on Saturday, the
first 777X was swallowed into the clouds as it headed north out of unpopulated
areas and the Washington Coast on a flight path chosen for safety reasons. It climbed to an altitude of 14,000 feet and
turned back east where it entered patterns over central Washington State,
beginning the first of many test flights on the road to certification and eventually
passenger service over the next 18 months.
The day before, with cloud
ceilings down to 2,000 feet, pelting rain, and winds gusting up to 29 knots,
over 10,000 disappointed employees, journalists, and VIPs shivered for nearly
five hours while the enormous 777-9X sat tantalizingly just off the runway,
waiting for clearance to takeoff.
Appalling conditions
It wasn't meant to be. At 1:30
p.m. Friday with conditions not improving and the flight window closing, her
first sortie was scrubbed. It's almost tradition that Boeing first flights
occur in abysmal conditions, but this is the first time in memory that a flight
had to be canceled due to elements.
Yesterday: It’s back to the barn. The #777XFF officially scrubbed for 2nd day in a row due to poor
weather. Tail winds for takeoff can’t exceed 10mph for 1st flight of a new
aircraft type. Flight has to be routed over unpopulated areas on departure. Try
again tomorrow.
In normal times, a first flight of a new airliner is a cause for
celebration. Events like these happen maybe twice a decade.
But for Boeing, these are
anything but normal times. Following two fatal crashes of the 737MAX, the
continued grounding of Boeing's most important aircraft -- which is reportedly
responsible for 40% of the company's profit -- has prompted one of the
104-year-old airframer's biggest ever crises.
Though there is continued
speculation of a new Boeing airplane to replace the 757/767 as a middle of the
market airliner or the 737MAX with the future small airliner, Boeing has no
entirely new models announced beyond the 777X.
Bringing an entirely new aircraft to market takes at least 5 to 7
years.
The 777X, a program launched
back in November 2013, is the successor to the most successful wide-body
airliner ever built: the 777, which first entered service nearly 25 years ago. The 777X is chock full of superlatives.
At 251 feet long, the 777-9
variant is the longest commercial airliner ever built. With a fuselage stretch
of 9.4 feet over its predecessor 777-300ER, the 777-9 is able to accommodate up
to three additional rows of economy seats 10 abreast, for a total of up to 426
passengers in a typical two class configuration.
An increased range of 7,285 nautical miles -- 220 miles more than
the airplane it replaces.
Record breaker
With the A380 and 747-8
Intercontinental ending their runs, the 777-9 stands alone as the largest
airliner by passenger capacity being built in the world. Its main competition,
Airbus' A350-1000, is proportioned more like the smaller 777-300ER.
To lift the maximum takeoff
weight of this 775,000 lb. beast
into the air, Boeing has built a new carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer wing with
a wingspan of just over 233 feet, with raked wingtips. Each wing is the largest single composite
structure in the world.
To fit on the same gates,
taxiways and runways as the current 777-300ERs, Boeing has designed distinctive
11-foot folding wingtips that deploy just before take-off and retract upon
landing. Though this is common on Navy fighter aircraft built for landing on an
aircraft carrier, folding wingtips on an airliner are a commercial first.
Under the wings are the
largest, most powerful engines ever mounted on a commercial airliner: General
Electric GE9X. These develop an incredible 105,000 lb. of thrust
apiece while reducing fuel burn by 10% from their predecessor GE90 engine.
The engines' diameters are as wide as a 737 fuselage. In spite of or because of their cutting-edge design and immense
power demands, design flaws in the compressor of the engines have been a
significant contributing factor to delaying the first flight of the 777X from
2018 to early 2019 and then to January 2020.
That said, this isn't an
unusually lengthy gestation in the recent history of new airliner programs. In an era of flight shaming and airlines'
increased emphasis on eco-friendliness and efficiency, the 777X is claimed by
Boeing to deliver a net efficiency gain of 13% on a cost per seat basis
compared to the 365-seat 777-300ER with a 29% reduction in emissions. Boeing says its newest flagship is 22% more efficient than the
world's largest airliner, the A380.
"The operating economics
of previous generation 777s, which could carry nearly as many people as the
777X with just two engines were already considerably better than those of the
A380," said airline analyst Seth Kaplan.
"Considering the 777X will be even more efficient, there's
long-term hope for this airplane program even though the market reception
hasn't been great so far."
Economics, engineering, and
efficiency aside, the 777X is being designed to improve the passenger flying experience
and not just in the premium cabin section of the plane. Borrowing from its pioneering stablemate, the
787 Dreamliner, Boeing's newest 777X has larger windows and a wider cabin for
wider seats (especially in economy).
Economic uncertainties
A
lower cabin altitude of 5,000 feet versus the typical airliner's 8,000 feet
reduces the effects of fatigue and jet lag. The 777X also has higher levels of humidity
to abate dehydration, cleaner air, less cabin noise, and smoother ride
technology.
How and when can passengers
expect to find themselves sitting aboard a new 777-9? Even with the increased scrutiny and testing
for certification, Boeing projects a service entry in late 2021 with Lufthansa.
Emirates, Etihad, Qatar, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and ANA
round out the customer list.
Boeing has 308 firm orders and
300 options of these $440-million aircraft (at list prices, though discounts
can reduce cost by half). But the stability of these
orders is uncertain with Gulf carriers and Lufthansa reportedly re-negotiating
and lowering order their commitments, partially due to economic weakness.
Though the 777-300ER is
immensely successful in the Americas, North American orders are yet to emerge. As the replacement cycle for A380s and 777
Classics accelerates, Boeing expects the 777X order book to bulge by the middle
of the decade.
But many industry analysts
question whether this jumbo twin is now simply too large for the market as
smaller Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s have attracted far more orders partially
due to the rise of hub by-passing nonstop point-to-point service. "The 777X is an intelligent derivative of
the 777, but I'm not sure if the 777X will be raging success for Boeing as
orders remain tepid, in part due to the delay of the GE engines, because the
smaller 787 Dreamliner is such a good aircraft," Harteveld says. "The 777X is the younger kid whose older siblings are
overachievers. "I think the 777X will have a slow burn
as an aircraft where its success may come over time, once the 777X has proven
itself as a reliable aircraft that meets or beats Boeing's performance
specifications."
Safe landing
In an email to the Boeing worldwide team, Boeing Commercial
Airplanes President and CEO Stan Deal wrote: "I am incredibly proud of all
our teammates who meticulously designed, assembled and supported the 777X. This
day is ours to celebrate, and proof that if we work together we can achieve big
things that make a difference in the world."
The first flight was originally
intended to last nearly 4 hours, but for reasons not immediately clear, it was
cut short. As the aircraft descended, its
landing lights penetrated the 700-foot cloud deck and the crowd gasped with
anticipation. At precisely, 2:00 p.m. local time, the 777-9X
kissed the rain soaked runway 15Right at Seattle's Boeing Field, after 3 hrs.
51 min. aloft.
The
airplane's pilots describe the debut flight as "emotional."
The scale of the airplane was
apparent as it rolled out past, with the wingtips automatically retracting to their 90-degree
locked state at 60 mph just as intended.
In keeping with the current
climate, this first flight event was more low key than previous similar events,
but the crowd was no less appreciative. Boeing employees needed a morale boost
and they got it. The two pilots Van G. Chaney and Craig Bomben alighted to
thunderous applause and embracing hugs from their families and co-workers.
Addressing reporters, they
could barely contain their enthusiasm. "It was so much fun," said Chaney, the pilot-in-command
and 777/777X chief test pilot. "The moment we rotated and saw the chase
plane go by, it was very emotional."
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