4 ms·

I would imagine hitting the engine is probably the safest thing that could happen. The engines are made of titanium alloys and designed to not fail catastrophi

I would imagine hitting the engine is probably the safest thing that could happen. The engines are made of titanium alloys and designed to not fail catastrophically. The rest of the aircraft is made of soft materials by comparison.

tanishq1 11y ago
And even in the event of an engine failure, they could still probably land safely.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- TheSpiceIsLife 11y ago
  So flying drones in flight paths is fine, gotcha.
- vectorjohn 11y ago
  "probably" sounds really good for a commercial airliner. For some idiot to fly a drone around an airport.
mynameishere 11y ago
That seems like the least safe thing that could happen. If a drone hit the wing or windshield it would just break and fall to earth.
Animats 11y ago
A jet engine that ingests any metal object the size of a drone motor will take serious damage. The engine may continue to run, but there will be blade damage. Vibration sensors indicate how bad the problem is. Most likely, there will be an engine shutdown and a precautionary landing. The plane goes out of service, the engine is replaced, and the damaged engine goes in for a major overhaul. The aircraft operator will be looking for someone to stick with the repair bill. Each engine on the A-380 today costs about $13 million. That's the good case. Here's a picture of an A-6E which crashed after an engine ingested a pencil-sized hex wrench.[1] [1] http://fodnews.com/fod-defined/ http://fodnews.com/fod-defined/
- dingaling 11y ago
  > Here's a picture of an A-6E which crashed after an engine ingested a pencil-sized hex wrench. Not particularly relevant. J52 engines weren't tested or certificated for bird-strike tolerance or turbine-blade containment. The later civil derivative, the JT8D, shared a core but was a new design outside the hot-section and had to meet all the FAA-mandated requirements.
nether 11y ago
Ti isn't an exceptionally hard metal, it's just very strong for its weight. So the fan (and the rest of the engine) would take significant damage.

tanishq1 11y ago

And even in the event of an engine failure, they could still probably land safely.

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
TheSpiceIsLife 11y ago
So flying drones in flight paths is fine, gotcha.
vectorjohn 11y ago
"probably" sounds really good for a commercial airliner. For some idiot to fly a drone around an airport.

mynameishere 11y ago

That seems like the least safe thing that could happen. If a drone hit the wing or windshield it would just break and fall to earth.

Animats 11y ago

A jet engine that ingests any metal object the size of a drone motor will take serious damage. The engine may continue to run, but there will be blade damage. Vibration sensors indicate how bad the problem is. Most likely, there will be an engine shutdown and a precautionary landing. The plane goes out of service, the engine is replaced, and the damaged engine goes in for a major overhaul. The aircraft operator will be looking for someone to stick with the repair bill. Each engine on the A-380 today costs about $13 million. That's the good case. Here's a picture of an A-6E which crashed after an engine ingested a pencil-sized hex wrench.[1] [1] http://fodnews.com/fod-defined/ http://fodnews.com/fod-defined/

dingaling 11y ago
> Here's a picture of an A-6E which crashed after an engine ingested a pencil-sized hex wrench. Not particularly relevant. J52 engines weren't tested or certificated for bird-strike tolerance or turbine-blade containment. The later civil derivative, the JT8D, shared a core but was a new design outside the hot-section and had to meet all the FAA-mandated requirements.

nether 11y ago

Ti isn't an exceptionally hard metal, it's just very strong for its weight. So the fan (and the rest of the engine) would take significant damage.