Originally Posted by
Hot 'n' High
No probs AGBagb, and really sorry if I came across a bit "iffy" - but worth thinking about what designers expect, anticipate what their kit may face and what is, seemingly in this case, one hell of an outlier. And yes, my background is both as an Aerospace Engineer and Commercial Pilot (typical case of "jack of 2 trades - rubbish at both???!!!") hence my take on what is expected/mitigated against in Engineering terms. There will probably be good aero/design reasons to keep some stuff low in the engines - even if just to ensure a good airflow between the top of the engines and the underneath of the wings - don't know as never worked in that field - but I could see that having an effect on say, cruise performance = cost per seat mile!
Not only just for aero reasons, but also for the pure sake of serviceability and maintainability. Reducing down-time helps a great deal in reducing cost overall.
Putting an LRU low on the engine reduces down-time quite a bit: Filling up the oil also shouldn't require a scissorlift.
It's the little things that add up, after all...