Lets not forget that both boeings and airbusses are tools. Tools to get the job done and both will get the job done.
Yes I prefer boeing over airbus, although I would miss the table incredibly. My ideal aircraft would really be a mix of the two. Taking the best from both worlds. But that will never happen...
The 737 rudder hardover problem was rare, but it was identified and countermeasures were taken.
For some reason though people are not willing to accept that there are flaws in the airbus design. It's absolutely bonkers that a rare situation can develop where the pilots are not able to recover from an abnormal attitude with normal control inputs.
Now I don't know if it is technically possible, but why is there no normal law with reduced protections available (so pitch g-load, and roll-rate with autotrim but no other protections except for g-load) on the flick of a guarded switch.
But even then why oh why is it so hard to accept that having to turn off ADR's is not normal!
I really don't care if boeing has had this or that incident, let boeing fix their own aircraft. It's not an excuse for continueing the status quo on airbus aircraft. Not being able to control the aircraft through normal control input is a serious threat however rare it may be.
As an airbus pilot I want to see a proper solution, the main problem here is not icing of AOA probes. Cessna's don't have AOA probes and they fly perfectly without them!
The real problem is that the computers can try to dive the aircraft into the ground if faulty inputs are received, and that these computers cannot be controlled by normal input. Even if the icing of probes is fixed, it still doesn't guarentee that no faulty inputs will exist that can make the situation go out of control.
There needs to be a simple remedy to deactivate these protections, switching off ADR's can only be a temporary measure. We are trusted with engine fire controls, why not with a guarded switch to deactivate protections?
In my mind the guys on that EVA A330 are brilliant guys, they got the aircraft on the ground safely, but had they been lower or not as sharp on the day... It's a very very serious incident.
As ADM said I am a minority in preferring the 73 over the bus. But I also think that is for a great part due to the more spacious flightdeck and the table. All in all its a nicer environment to do a 4-sector day in then the 737, which in layout is a bit cramped. But flying wise I enjoy and prefer the 737.
To be honest I'm a bit sad that boeing is sticking with the same design for the 4th time with the 737MAX. I would have rather seen a new design based on the 787.
But if nobody wants to order that new design and we leave the choice to SWA, what do you expect?
Last edited by 737Jock; 7th Jan 2013 at 12:18.