Quote:
Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy
(Post 8664052)
Jeff could better comment, but I suspect that the repair cost was still substantially less than the purchase cost of a brand new 747. Anything can be repaired if there is enough financial motivation, and there is certainly nothing unsafe about such a repair project. Just like a car, if the repair cost is less than the replacement cost, insurance will fix it.
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Sometimes it's all about getting something in the air to meet route commitments and make money. When new planes are several years out, as they can be when we are really booked, we will often repair at a cost that exceeds the value of the airplane.
And yes, Quantas has never had a "hull loss" - a really big deal when it comes to insurance in this biz, not to mention reputation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by speeder
(Post 8664052)
Amazing photos and work. I have a friend who used to repair jetliners that had "hard landings", which he said was their euphemism for crashing.
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A "crash" is when you can't fly it ever again. A "landing" is when you can... eventually... ;)
Quote:
Originally Posted by flipper35
(Post 8664052)
Actually I am sure they thought of that in the design. The replacement pieces may be larger than if it were a metal plane but the process should be similar. They aren't made in a single mold.
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The 787 has five sections of fuselage "tube", each of which are spiral wound layups in a single piece. Traditional aluminum passenger aircraft have the same five body sections, but they are built up in jigs from aluminum panels and extrusions. In both cases, the body sections are mechanically fastened to one another, end to end, in final assembly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy
(Post 8664052)
Structural repair with composites is doable but substantially more challenging and more expensive. Detection of damage is also far more difficult, for instance inspecting for internal core damage even when there is no visible damage to the skin. There's also a much lower threshold before you simply scrap the piece, very little opportunity to rework.
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Yup. Spot on.
I actually came back to AOG about ten or twelve years ago after having bailed from it in the mid '90's. Raising kids, wanting to stay home, that kind of stuff. While gone, I veered off into the composites world, doing interior parts tooling (mold dies, vacuum forming tools, layup mandrels, N/C trimming and drilling, etc.) and control surface (flaps, spoilers, ailerons, elevators, and other composite parts) tooling. Then, lo and behold, we decided to build a composite airplane. So, AOG tracks me down, making me an "offer I couldn't refuse" to come back and work on 787 repair strategies and tooling for them. I'm back with my first love, and will stay here until I retire at this point. This job really is a lot of fun.
