PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Air Asia Indonesia Lost Contact from Surabaya to Singapore
Old 12th Feb 2015, 18:12
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HeavyMetallist
 
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Originally Posted by feedback
Don't know. Will it rip the rear pressure bulkhead off, or just pull the tail away when it's unfurled?
He was only talking about doing this to allow test flights to be carried out safely, so it wouldn't be a problem - the test aircraft's structure would be reinforced as necessary. This method is routinely used for fast jet spin testing (although obviously you do also have the benefit of an ejection seat if things don't work out in those circumstances). An alternative would be something along the lines that Airbus have already used for A400M stall testing, a downward-firing rocket in the tail.

I make no comment on whether any of this is necessary, merely observing that it's readily available and deployed technology within the flight test community.
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