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[bearfoil]

JD-EE

At impact, I think there was very little "sinking" happening. It is virtually certain the tail left the a/c (the entire tail), and the cabin interior started to spill right away.

"10g's". Layman wise, that means a 200 pound pilot is "pulling" 10 g's, and "weighs" the equivalent of 2,000 pounds. Same for the Rudder. If it weighs 200 pounds, 36g's mean it "effectively" weighed 7200 pounds. The consideration in the rulebook is for 36g's (demonstrated) in the plane of the hinges. This obviously begs the question, why is the arm at a 38 degree bias to the "plane of the Hinges".And that is the question of the day! Rulebook notwithstanding, from an engineering consideration perspective, WTF? I still think that because at the most predicted deck angle of the a/c for a tail strike, the "36g" arm is 90 degrees to the deck, suspiciously looking like it was designed as OldEngineer would have it. I think he's right. If the Rudder does weigh 200 pounds, I consider it extremely "light" (meaning strength to weight, here), and sufficiently attached with the seven hinges (which look like they could be salvaged and re-used), to keep the Rudder in pristine condition throughout its challenges, and as I have said before, strong well in excess of the considered forces encountered in the crash, and demonstrably to the detriment of the a/c. "Lose a Rudder, keep a Fin".

bear