21–30 of 151 posts
You know the fuel level in each tank, and have a good estimate or actual flow data on engine fuel usage. Simple math says "leak" or "no leak".
If that would work, it is surprising it isn't in the software.
Against my own inclination to never watch YouTube, I've become a bit obsessed with this one fellow who does excellent reconstructions and analyses of aviation incidents. He covers this one here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9becqrhsedE
Seems a bit weird to say "never watch youtube". It's like never reading a book anymore because someone gave you a bad one. It's up to you to filter out content you dislike, just like with everything else.
I think if you asked the engineers who designed the airbus in question, could you create a "leak" warning, using just the existing sensor suite, they'd say "sure". You know the fuel level in each tank, and have a good estimate or actual flow data on engine fuel usage. Simple math says "leak" or "no leak". If that would work, it is surprising it isn't in the software.
If a human can do it, I would imagine a computer could automate the process. Likely wouldn't remove the need for the pilots to do it anyway, though; redundancy and reliability and all that.
I think if you asked the engineers who designed the airbus in question, could you create a "leak" warning, using just the existing sensor suite, they'd say "sure". You know the fuel level in each tank, and have a good estimate or actual flow data on engine fuel usage. Simple math says "leak" or "no leak". If that would work, it is surprising it isn't in the software.
If the number does not reach within expected margins, then show an error.
This protects against leaks, but also miscalculation of fuel needed by the pilots, misfueling, or efficiency loss somehow.
Interesting that they call Lajes a “military airfield”. On the Azorean island of Terceira, Lajes (TER) is a mixed use airfield that is the commercial landing strip of the island since the 1930s, as well as having a multi-national military base on the other side since the 1940s. There is a picture in the story. The NTSB report called it a military airbase, and other reports say “Military air traffic controllers guided…
To cross the Atlantic between NA and Europe you need to be able to travel 138 minutes from an airport, although for almost the entire area it’s 120 minutes. This is accomplished by having air strips which can take massive planes like A350s at remote places which can’t justify planes of that size normally like Newfoundland, Greenland and the Azores While these are mainly there for military and temporary emergency use,…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not the OP but personally I'm the same. It's Google I don't like and also the video format, I have no patience for watching videos. Written content is much easier for me to absorb quickly and efficiently. Videos are always so tailored to the slowest viewer (especially training videos, I hate those!!) There's only a few YouTubers I have time for like ones that don't hide complexity, such as Dave Jones from EEVBlog.
YouTube now provide a setting to change the speed of a video. This means you can decrease or increase the speed to meet your viewing requirements.
A case in point would be this article, as it is clearly written, balanced and very digestible.
I think if you asked the engineers who designed the airbus in question, could you create a "leak" warning, using just the existing sensor suite, they'd say "sure". You know the fuel level in each tank, and have a good estimate or actual flow data on engine fuel usage. Simple math says "leak" or "no leak". If that would work, it is surprising it isn't in the software.
Make it broader - before take-off, pilots enter the expected destination (or expected distance). During cruising, computers keep track of how much fuel is being used (lost) per unit of time, and projects forward to see if they can still make their expected destination or not. If the number does not reach within expected margins, then show an error. This protects against leaks, but also miscalculation of fuel needed b…
Perhaps the big innovation needed is accurate fuel quantity measurement.
About a near crash in 2001, you might have heard, the longest glide by commercial aircraft after fuel runs out. 32 min read for the whole story.
What is it about Canadian commercial jets having to glide to a landing after running out of fuel? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider
Against my own inclination to never watch YouTube, I've become a bit obsessed with this one fellow who does excellent reconstructions and analyses of aviation incidents. He covers this one here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9becqrhsedE
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Make it broader - before take-off, pilots enter the expected destination (or expected distance). During cruising, computers keep track of how much fuel is being used (lost) per unit of time, and projects forward to see if they can still make their expected destination or not. If the number does not reach within expected margins, then show an error. This protects against leaks, but also miscalculation of fuel needed b…
Garmin G1000 units (popular in small planes) show this, as a circle around the current position, including fuel reserve. However, it depends on an accurate fuel level, which is mostly dead-reckoned from integrating fuel consumption. Measuring the actual fuel level in wing tanks is imprecise and the sensors sometimes get stuck and give bogus readings. Perhaps the big innovation needed is accurate fuel quantity measure…