Originally Posted by
West Coast
If it it can be screwed up, it eventually will, saying otherwise ignores the fallible human and technology built by fallable humans.
There is
zero doubt that at some point there will be a foul up regarding the folding wingtips. I never argued otherwise. I
have argued that the benefits are worth the risk, just as the benefits of retracting landing gear, retracting leading and trailing edge flaps, engine thrust reversers, speed brakes, landing spoilers, all moving tailplanes, hydraulically powered flight controls, and a bevy of other features that add complexity to the aircraft are worth the risk. Heavens, Concorde had a drooping nose which if it failed would have made the aircraft a real handful at best (impossible at worst) to safely land. Aviation has a long long history of mitigating and accepting the risks brought by increased complexity. The 777X's folding wingtips are no exception in that regard.