Actually "wobbly wings and rattling engines" together can be a very bad thing. Two Lockheed Electras were lost around 1960 when a weakened prop support permitted the props to enter "Whirl mode", where the prop disk precesses or wobbles.
The frequency of the wobble induced wing flutter, tearing the wings from the aircraft in flight, with all passengers and crew lost. (Braniff's N9705C on Sep 29, 1959, and Northwest's N121US on March 17, 1960)
The problem was fixed at Lockheed's expense under the Lockheed Electra Achievement Program (LEAP), however the type never really recovered from the bad publicity, and the entry of the new domestic jets. Lockheed didn't recieve any further orders for the type, despite it being a fast and economical design.
Last edited by Checkboard; 1st May 2002 at 06:00.