From: Ed Kirkley (mojoedd@bellsouth.net)
Date: Tue Apr 12 2005 - 08:06:21 PDT
Having worked for a major airline for many, many years and having had plenty
of experience on both Boeing and Airbus aircraft I can say that without a
doubt I would much prefer a Boeing to an Airbus for any trips that I take.
The problem is as some people have stated here on the list, a computer
problem and the fact that Airbus is all "fly by wire" with NO cable backup
to the flight controls.
In other words if you loose electrical power in an Airbus you will contact
the earth in the same attitude that you were in when you lost power. With
an older Boeing you have what is called "manual reversion". This means that
the pilots need to work out in the gym and build their arm muscles up really
well. Cables are there for the flight controls and you can control the
aircraft without any electrical power what so ever, try that in an Airbus
and see what happens.
There is a device called a "RAT", (Ram Air Turbine), which is a little
propeller driven device that is supposed to drop down when electrical power
is lost to provide both some electrical power and hydraulics on both Boeing
and Airbus but as I stated above, "if it ain't Boeing, I ain't going"!
There are many horror stories that I could relate here, both true and sorta
true that would scare the flying right out of you but I won't use the
bandwidth. Suffice it to say the Boeing people, (which now incorporate
McDonald-Douglas and a few other aircraft builders), are the best at what
they do. Yes, they are a sticky bunch and yes they tend to over price a lot
and that makes other aircraft look good but on matters of flying and safety
I trust Boeing first and foremost.
Simply my five cents worth,
Ed
----- Original Message -----
From: "dgrev" <dgrev@iinet.net.au>
To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 03:13
Subject: [MV] Boeing vs Airbus - Military vs Civil outlook?
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