Boeing's software fix for the 737 Max overwhelms the plane's computer
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Re: Boeing's software fix for the 737 Max overwhelms the plane's computer
#2Could this be considered unacknowledged technical debt?
Re: Boeing's software fix for the 737 Max overwhelms the plane's computer
#3Simple question: Why doesn't Boeing upgrade to i386 for their new planes? I heard it's available for aerospace applications.
Re: Boeing's software fix for the 737 Max overwhelms the plane's computer
#4This smells like more lives are about to be lost if Boeing doesn't get their act together
Re: Boeing's software fix for the 737 Max overwhelms the plane's computer
#5Mods: Can you remove the #more from the submission URL? The fragment makes the browser scroll down which skips the first half of the article.
Re: Boeing's software fix for the 737 Max overwhelms the plane's computer
#6Simple question: Why doesn't Boeing upgrade to i386 for their new planes? I heard it's available for aerospace applications.
I don’t have evidence, but most likely, it is to avoid the related costs and risks of certification of this « new » CPU for its intended usage. Not only the CPU but all the software stack needs to be re-proven safe, including compilers and test tools.
Note: this is not necessarily a stupid decision.
Re: Boeing's software fix for the 737 Max overwhelms the plane's computer
#7Simple question: Why doesn't Boeing upgrade to i386 for their new planes? I heard it's available for aerospace applications.
With that comes a large amount of verification scope and effort. It is much easier to verify inside and out a small, non complex design running on an incredibly well understood simple platform.
Re: Boeing's software fix for the 737 Max overwhelms the plane's computer
#8Could this be considered unacknowledged technical debt?
Maybe we're just ignorant of the available chips for this use case. Otherwise just reads like they've been kicking the can of system redesign/refactoring down the road for decades. It appears that short term thinking abounds in every industry.
Re: Boeing's software fix for the 737 Max overwhelms the plane's computer
#9Mods: Can you remove the #more from the submission URL? The fragment makes the browser scroll down which skips the first half of the article.
Sure.
Re: Boeing's software fix for the 737 Max overwhelms the plane's computer
#10From the article
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Boeing says that it can again fix the software to avoid the problem the FAA just found. It is doubtful that this will be possible. The software load is already right at the border, if not above the physical capabilities of the current flight control computers. The optimization potential of the software is likely minimal.
MCAS was a band aid. Due to the new engine position the 737 MAX version had changed its behavior compared to the older 737 types even though it still used the older types' certification. MCAS was supposed to correct that. The software fix for MCAS is another band aid on top of it. The fix for the software fix that Boeing now promises to solve the problem the FAA pilot found, is the third band aid over the same wound. It is doubtful that it will stop the bleeding.
The flight control computers the 737 MAX and NG use were developed in the early to mid 1990s. There are no off-the-shelf solutions for higher performance.
Boeing's latest announced time frame for bringing the grounded 737 MAX planes back into the air is "mid December". In view of this new problem one is inclined to ask "which year?"
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Ouch...
Introducing a new CPU into airplane like 737 will require another whole series of test/certifications.
And right about now, Boeing management is thinking we could use some of those senior engineers we laid off because we thought they were not needed as our products are now mature.