Originally Posted by
Tomaski
It would be interesting to compare crack incidence with type of winglet and how many cycles since they've been installed. Some of these aircraft may have accumulated a lot of their cycles prior to having winglets installed.
Just a guess - depending on route structure- eg short 1 to 2 hours per cycle versus maybe 4 to 6 housrs per cycle, the landing weights may be significantly greater for the short cycle- less fuel burn, tank up first flight full, and make maybe 3 to 5 cycles before refueling
versus tank up first flight, make only two cycles before refueling, etc. Could account for difference in overall fleet use versus ' heavy' landings.
comments ??