FAA Administrator will FLY the MAX !

[MooneyMitch]

" Dickson To Fly MAX Sept. 30

Russ Niles

September 27, 2020

 

 

Perhaps the most important flight in Boeing’s history, symbolically at least, is scheduled for Wednesday as FAA Administrator Steve Dickson straps into the left seat of a Boeing 737 MAX. In November of 2019 Dickson famously made the pledge to wring out the changes to the aircraft software personally. “I am not going to sign off on this aircraft until I fly it myself and am satisfied that I would put my own family on it without a second thought,” he said at the time. The flight signals that the FAA is getting ready to allow the aircraft to return to flight for the first time since March of 2019 when the second of two fatal crashes involving the MAX’s flight control system occurred in Ethiopia.

This is no photo op for Dickson. Before releasing the brakes, he will undergo the full training package Boeing is proposing existing 737 pilots take before flying the latest model. Dickson flew 737NG models for Delta before he joined the executive ranks. The training and flight will take place in Seattle. The primary focus will be on the behavior of the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System that was identified as the source of the control problems that resulted in the Ethiopian crash and an earlier one in Indonesia, which killed a total of 346 people."

 

This is really putting your money where your mouth is...............I think it's impressive!

[0TreeLemur]

I agree.  That's the way it should be with certified aircraft, right?  The person doing the final certification flights should not be a company pilot.  

Now here's my fantasy.  They should also strap in every MBA from Boeing on who had a role in the original rush-out and corner cutting in the back and simulate an MCAS trim runaway event.  Stream real time video of the terrified executives to those who registered objections to the decision to avoid redundant AOA sensors.  Use it in orientation sessions to educate new management employees about why it was such a major foul-up.  If only.   

[ZuluZulu]

If you're wondering what that loud "whooshing" sound coming from Chicago is, have no fear.  It's just Boeing's legal department drafting a waiver and release agreement.

[Parker_Woodruff]

Does anyone even need this plane anymore?

[carusoam]

Need vs. Want...

Classic American training for children...   
 

I was searching for news over the weekend... looking to see what’s up on this project.... it’s been ominously quiet...

Best regards,

-a-

[GeeBee]

I gave Captain Dickson a line check in the 737NG years ago. He is an excellent pilot and his evaluation of the Max will be thorough and thoughtful. It is nice to have a real stick as the Administrator.

 

 

[steingar]

Personally, I think he should stick to being the FAA administrator and leave the test pilot duties to the test pilots.  Who wouldn't love to blow off their day job and go fly an airliner?

[N201MKTurbo]

The 737 MAX will never go away. It and its engines are the future of commercial aviation. It is significantly more efficient then current airplanes. Even if they did kill it, everything that makes it up will continue in other aircraft. Except MCAS, that was a bad idea... 

[Unit74]

14 hours ago, Parker_Woodruff said:

Does anyone even need this plane anymore?

MS Flight Simulator does.

[Unit74]

48 minutes ago, GeeBee said:

I gave Captain Dickson a line check in the 737NG years ago. He is an excellent pilot and his evaluation of the Max will be thorough and thoughtful. It is nice to have a real stick as the Administrator.

 

 

I would agree with his flying the plane as well. The rubber meets the road in his office. Given the publicity over the crashes, the FAAs FUBAR lack of oversight, and the subsequent fall out if there is another incident, if the Chief Administrator for the FAA calls it good there will be pitch forks en mass and suited lawyers at the ready and they cannot hide behind Boeing; It becomes a federal problem, not Boeing's.  It certainly appears he has the gumption and qualifications to evaluate the bird. I approve!

Edited September 29, 2020 by Unit74

[GeeBee]

1 hour ago, steingar said:

Personally, I think he should stick to being the FAA administrator and leave the test pilot duties to the test pilots.  Who wouldn't love to blow off their day job and go fly an airliner?

This is not a test flight. It is a flight evaluation. It is a check to see if the airplane meets the certification requirements and that the systems installed function as intended. Additionally it is a check to see if the training module Boeing has designed is adequate for the average line pilot and the training fidelity is adequate.  As the VP of Ops, Dickson used to do FCF's, functional check flights of aircraft all the time for the company. It is entirely within his training and experience to operate this flight.

 

[carusoam]

It’s really cool to be an administrator and have all the technical skills to back that up...

There isn’t anything more important than the proper return of this plane to the flight line...

Just in time for the FDA to approve a vaccine for the pandemic...

What would be the equivalent for the FDA... Dr. Scott Gotlieb injecting himself with the first dose of the vaccine?

 

This is also a great way to keep the conspiracy theorists busy... 
 

Looks like a few more months before the new solutions get into the field... and a whole year to get to the next level...

Best regards,

-a-

[carusoam]

Gentlemen, start your engines!   In Europe!

Boeing 737 Max is safe to fly again, Europe's aviation regulator says....

-a-

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-16/boeing-max-declared-safe-to-fly-by-europe-s-aviation-regulator?srnd=premium-europe&sref=ctSjKj2N

[tmo]

Only the ones that haven't yet rusted to s#it. Seriously, the grapevine says our national airline has a few that literally flew for 3 months, got grounded, and aren't even close to airworthy now, despite being mothballed the way Boeing wanted them to be. Sadly we don't have the vast dry deserts of Arizona.

[MooneyMitch]

3 hours ago, carusoam said:

Gentlemen, start your engines!   In Europe!

Boeing 737 Max is safe to fly again, Europe's aviation regulator says....

-a-

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-16/boeing-max-declared-safe-to-fly-by-europe-s-aviation-regulator?srnd=premium-europe&sref=ctSjKj2N

Terrific news!!  Go MAX!!! 

[carusoam]

Boeing intends to hire corporate pilots to support getting the 737 Max back in the air...

 

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/dec/17/boeing-recruit-team-160-pilots-737-max-relaunch

 

-a-

[N201MKTurbo]

11 minutes ago, carusoam said:

Boeing intends to hire corporate pilots to support getting the 737 Max back in the air...

 

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/dec/17/boeing-recruit-team-160-pilots-737-max-relaunch

 

-a-

I know a few furloughed airline pilots that would love to give up their cardboard signs and street corners and work for Boeing. Why are they looking for corporate pilots?

[carusoam]

14 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

I know a few furloughed airline pilots that would love to give up their cardboard signs and street corners and work for Boeing. Why are they looking for corporate pilots?

 Oops, bad choice of words on my part....   the Boeing Corp is looking to hire pilots directly...

These 160 people will be part of the training team embedded with various airlines...

(of course, all my interpretation, in an area i’m not intimately familiar... )

I saw this about two days ago announced on CNBC....

Best regards,

-a-

[Jim Peace]

On 9/29/2020 at 9:17 AM, N201MKTurbo said:

 its engines are the future of commercial aviation.

You can eat an entire meal during the engine start......not impressed with that part of it.....

[N201MKTurbo]

4 hours ago, Jim Peace said:

You can eat an entire meal during the engine start......not impressed with that part of it.....

Well, I’ve never actually operated one, and some of my airline mechanic friends didn’t have flattering things to say about them, but anything with that much of an efficiency improvement will not go away. 

[GeeBee]

5 hours ago, Jim Peace said:

You can eat an entire meal during the engine start......not impressed with that part of it.....

These highly efficient engines run very lean and coaxing them into sustained running often requires the FADEC to manipulate fuel, stator vanes and sometimes even ignition to get them up. As an example, the P&W 4000 series generally take 90 seconds from engine start to idle. Whereas the GE CF-6 its competitor will be up and running in 36 seconds. The difference is the GE varies the stator vanes during start whereas the 4000 requires the engine at idle before stator vanes will start articulating. With the LEAP engine running a slower N1 compressor you will have reduced airflow which makes lighting off without over temp a more difficult proposition. Already its predecessor would 45 to 50 seconds to start so I am not surprised it is slow to start.

Now how do I know how long it takes to start these engines? One of the things expected of line pilots is efficiency. You are expected on push back not to start early....or late. The company wants the engine reach idle and after start check completed right as you receive a wave off from the ground crew. Equally so, if you perform single engine taxi, you don't want to be holding short, holding up the line behind you while you wait for the required ground idle warm up time. So you calculate carefully to being applying takeoff power just as the warm up. time is met.

 

[carusoam]

Is there a hot start or flooded start to go with those procedures too?

just wondering...

Best regards,

-a-

[Andy95W]

1 hour ago, carusoam said:

Is there a hot start or flooded start to go with those procedures too?

just wondering...

Best regards,

-a-

Actually, yes, there is a hot start procedure to go with the engines, but the FADEC does it all automatically. 

One of the means these engines use to gain efficiency is by reducing clearance between components, such as compressor and turbine blades and inner nacelles.  After shut down, the internal heat rises and the clearance at the top of the engine decreases.  The engine must be “motored” before start to make the upper/lower temperatures more uniform.  What’s weird is that the longer it sits, the more cooling it needs.  A short pause (like 10 minutes) doesn’t need cooling, but 1 hour without running needs significant cooling time.

[Hank]

3 hours ago, Andy95W said:

Actually, yes, there is a hot start procedure to go with the engines, but the FADEC does it all automatically. 

One of the means these engines use to gain efficiency is by reducing clearance between components, such as compressor and turbine blades and inner nacelles.  After shut down, the internal heat rises and the clearance at the top of the engine decreases.  The engine must be “motored” before start to make the upper/lower temperatures more uniform.  What’s weird is that the longer it sits, the more cooling it needs.  A short pause (like 10 minutes) doesn’t need cooling, but 1 hour without running needs significant cooling time.

So motor the engine some at shutdown so there'll be less thermal energy to cause expansion, should make for easier, faster restarts. 

[GeeBee]

I would be hard pressed to second guess the manufacturer's instruction after all the hours on the test stand with all the instrumentation that is attached.