Please be gentle with me; I only flew professionally for the best part of half a century. I admit to being a reasonable pilot and operator but I never really did understand advanced "wiggly amps" (despite flying the Short Belfast for 6 years).
Now, I think I have got my head around the fact that the 787 has (had) a great deal of trouble with lithium batteries. (During my career I had a ni-cad battery blow up one night over Northern Kenya which then involved us in an emergency descent).
So, after a very expensive grounding, the 787 has been cleared to fly again (because they have now encased the suspect batteries inside an indestructable titanium box).
Have they actually solved the problem?
Now we have an incident that managed to close Heathrow for a couple of hours because all the fire engines were required to attend a fire on board a 787 which was being prepared for towing to the gate to go flying.
We are expected by some to celebrate the fact that the batteries had nothing to do with the fire in the galley that burnt a hole or two through the roof and some are indeed celebrating this as a source of vindication.
Could someone just explain to me, in very simple terms, how it is that one of the girls forgets to switch off one of the hot cups and eight hours later, when the aircraft is powered up to be towed to the gate, the amazingly modern electrical system in the 787 allows the aircraft to become a potential write off (melt down even) to say nothing of the expense of closing Heathrow for an hour or two.
It seems to me (as a stupid pilot) that such a complex aircraft should be able to survive the possibility of a hot cup left on or even a handbag left in one of the ovens by one of the girls. Just how far have we come?
Perhaps someone could make a fortune by selling the designers of the 787 electrical system a supply of RCCBs and some 13 amp fuses.
Perhaps the whole aeroplane is too clever for its own good.
I certainly will not get in one for a very long time.
Last edited by JW411; 13th Jul 2013 at 17:22.