[MBZ] Airbus Comments

Sun Feb 8 03:42:03 UTC 2009

'Zackly what I thought.  I like Boeings with cables, too.

Wilton

----- Original Message -----
From: "Scott Ritchey" <ritcheyvs at nc.rr.com>
To: "Mercedes , Discussion List" <Mercedes at okiebenz.com>
Sent: Saturday, February 07, 2009 10:16 PM
Subject: [MBZ] Airbus Comments

> >From a friend who was a USAF test pilot and is retired Delta pilot.  The
> opinions aren't his but he forwarded si I guess he agrees.
>
>
> The press is having a field day turning "Sully" Sullenberger into a
> Lindbergh-like hero.  I attended his welcoming home reception in Danville,
> CA last weekend... me and the estimated 3000 other attendees. All credit
is
> given to him and his crew, but they will be the first to tell you, "they
> just did their jobs." They did them well, but when your job entails
holding
> the lives of hundreds of people in your hands every time you fly, then
doing
> your job well is the minimum acceptable standard.
>
>
>
>
> I don't, and I doubt if more than just a handful of other pilots, begrudge
> Sully his day in the sun. What I am concerned about is how the real cause
of
> this accident is being glossed over and, on the part of Airbus Industries,
> actually lied about. There are stories circulating now about how the
flight
> computers helped "save" the aircraft by insuring the ditching was done
> properly. The stories themselves are absolute nonsense and the contention
> that the flight computers ensured the proper attitude was maintained for
> ditching is pure fabrication.
>
>
>
>
> So what's wrong with Airbus wanting to steal a little glory for their
> computerized drones? There is a good chance it was the computers that put
> the aircraft into the water!
>
>
>
>
> I readily admit I heartily dislike Airbus because of their design
> philosophy, I will never set foot in an A-380 (the superjumbo) as I
consider
> it a really bad accident looking for a place to happen. I am not much
> happier with the rest of them but especially the A-320 which has killed
> several folks, while the engineers try to perfect software that can
replace
> a human brain that has a talent for flying... something that I, rather
> naturally, don't believe possible.
>
>
>
>
> It is well known that I love Boeings. I love to fly them. Beyond the sheer
> joy of just flying the Boeing, I also believe in their design philosophy
> that the last word has to be with the pilot, not the machine. No pilot, no
> matter how hard he tries, can turn an A-320 upside down. It just won't do
> it.  Airbus believes it has designed a computer that is smarter than a
pilot
> (the evidence of dead bodies scattered around Mulhouse, France to the
> contrary) and gives the last word to the computer.  If a pilot moves the
> controls so as to turn the airplane upside down, the computer will refuse.
>
>
>
>
> I can turn the B777 upside down. Once I get it upside down, if I let go of
> the controls, it will turn itself right-side up (smart airplane).  I don't
> believe I will ever be in a situation where I will need to turn the
airplane
> upside down, but I feel good knowing I have the control to do it. That's
why
> I'm not really kidding when I say:  "if it ain't a Boeing; I ain't going".
>
>
>
>
> What follows is an e-mail from a retired US Air Pilot who has flown the
> Airbus A320 just like the one that ended up in the Hudson.  It was written
> in response to a friend asking him if he knew the pilot who did the
> ditching.  It is most illuminating and worth the read...
>
>
>
>
> Dear Chuck,
>
>
>
>
> I don't know him.  I've seen him in the crew room and around the system
but
> never met him.  He was former PSA and I was former Piedmont and we never
had
> the occasion to fly together.
>
>
>
>
> The dumb shit press just won't leave this alone.  Most airliner ditchings
> aren't very successful since they take place on the open ocean with wind,
> rough seas, swells and rescue boats are hours or days away. This one
> happened in fresh smooth water, landing with the current and the rescue
> boats were there picking people up while they were still climbing out of
the
> airplane.  It also happened on a cold winter day when all the pleasure
boats
> were parked.  Had this happened in July it would be pretty hard not to
whack
> a couple of little boats.  Sully did a nice job but so would 95% of the
> other pilots in the industry.  You would have done a nice job.
>
>
>
>
> Don't be surprised if the Airbus fly by wire computers didn't put a
> perfectly good airplane in the water.   In an older generation airplane
like
> the 727 or  737-300/400, the throttles are hooked to the fuel controllers
on
> the engine by a steel throttle cable just like a TBM or a Comanche.  On
the
> Airbus nothing in the cockpit is real.  Everything is electronic.  The
> throttles, rudder and brake pedals and the side stick are hooked to
> rheostats who talk to a computer who talks to a electric hydraulic servo
> valve which in turn hopefully moves something.
>
>
>
>
> In a older generation airplane when you hit birds the engines keep
screaming
> or they blow up but they don't both roll back to idle simultaneously like
> happened to Flt. 1549.  All it would take is for bird guts to plug a
> pressure sensor or knock the pitot probe off or plug it and the computers
> would roll the engines back to idle thinking they were over boosting
because
> the computers were getting bad data. The Airbus is a real pile of shit.  I
> don't like riding on them.  Google the Airbus A320 Crash at the Paris
> Airshow in 1998.  Watch the video of an airbus A320 crash into a forest
> because the computers wouldn't allow a power increase following a low
pass.
> The computers wouldn't allow a power increase because they determined that
> the airspeed was too low for the increase requested so the computers
didn't
> give them any.  Pushing the throttles forward in a Airbus does nothing
more
> than request a power increase from the computer.  If the computer doesn't
> like all the airplane and engine parameters you don't get a power
increase.
> Airbus blamed the dead crew since they couldn't defend themselves.  A
Boeing
> would still be flying.
>
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