PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - A380 Broken Wings
View Single Post
Old 14th March 2006 | 11:35
  #6 (permalink)  
Jetstream Rider
 
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 291
Likes: 0
From: Heathrow
i do not buy the argument that the tested wing is not identical to production wings. it's like testing a volkswagen to destruction & then going to mercedes to tell them they have a good car.
Why not? These things are not made by someone spreading glue with a stick and "adding a bit more" for the test article. They are made in jigs, very accurately and with some pretty amazing machine tools as well as some hand work. What exactly will make a difference between a test specimen and a service specimen? A Volkswagen and a Mercedes are different shapes for a start! (insert irony mark).

You could restrict the A380 weight - which then means the aircraft is strong enough, as the load has then been reduced (which means no further testing, but I think this is unlikely). The mode of failure is also important (and I do not know how it failed), but if a part of the wing failed, leaving the main structure intact, then maybe only that part needs alteration. I would be interested to see the test results, but imagine these are kept fairly tightly under wraps.
Jetstream Rider is offline