4 ms·

That was enough to take down a plane easily. Wings don't just sit there on the ground like in the video, they support the fuselage of the plane against serious

by CPLX 8y ago

That was enough to take down a plane easily. Wings don't just sit there on the ground like in the video, they support the fuselage of the plane against serious aerodynamic forces. They are under load, it's like taking out a bunch of columns at the ground floor of a building. Not to mention that wings are full of fuel, as well as the cables or hydraulic lines connected to the control surfaces.

jetrink 8y ago
The engineer that conducted the test concluded that the plane would have been able to survive the impact. However, he said that if the test were conducted on a faster aircraft like a business jet, the results could be worse.
- geoelectric 8y ago
  Realizing I should go watch the video, did he say at what height it would be recoverable? For example, there's been at least one high-profile plane crash in the past (Lauda Flight 004) where a thrust reverser (diverts the jet output forward instead of backwards, used to slow you down quick during landing) deployed mid-flight. That should have been recoverable, but turns out Boeing only projected outcome at low speeds and altitudes. The outcome at cruising speeds/altitudes turned out to be far different and the plane went down. While cruise wouldn't be an issue (don't think they get up that high!) I'd expect the outcome of a drone hitting a flight control surface might vary between takeoff, landing, and lowish-altitude holding.
bronco21016 8y ago
You’d be shocked how little of the wing is actually supporting the entire structure. Typically there is one main spar that holds up the entire wing and the skin and ribs only hold a fraction of the load which is distributed to the spar. As you might imagine the spar is going to be a pretty heavy duty piece of aluminum and not easily damaged by something like this. A wing can sustain a fairly large hole as long as the spar isn’t damaged. Control cables would be a concern but hydraulics and fuel aren’t typically going to be a concern. Fuel isn’t as combustible as everyone likes to think. There are also additional tanks. Hydraulics offer redundancy on aircraft that use hydraulic control surfaces. I’ve seen a Cirrus SR20 hit a deer at takeoff speed and leave a 2.5 ft hole in the skin of the wing the went as deep as the reinforced fuel tank. The aircraft continued flight and came back around and landed just fine. Even flew to the repair airport after cleaning up some loose fiberglass. Personally what worries me more is what would happen if they fired this thing at the plexiglass windscreen. In a GA airplane that would likely be fatal.
- dotancohen 8y ago
  > ... I’ve seen a Cirrus SR20 hit a deer at takeoff speed ... 1. What is the Vr of a typical deer? 2. What altitude was the collision? Were both the deer and Cirrus pilot in communication with the tower?

by CPLX 8y ago

jetrink 8y ago

The engineer that conducted the test concluded that the plane would have been able to survive the impact. However, he said that if the test were conducted on a faster aircraft like a business jet, the results could be worse.

geoelectric 8y ago
Realizing I should go watch the video, did he say at what height it would be recoverable? For example, there's been at least one high-profile plane crash in the past (Lauda Flight 004) where a thrust reverser (diverts the jet output forward instead of backwards, used to slow you down quick during landing) deployed mid-flight. That should have been recoverable, but turns out Boeing only projected outcome at low speeds and altitudes. The outcome at cruising speeds/altitudes turned out to be far different and the plane went down. While cruise wouldn't be an issue (don't think they get up that high!) I'd expect the outcome of a drone hitting a flight control surface might vary between takeoff, landing, and lowish-altitude holding.

bronco21016 8y ago

You’d be shocked how little of the wing is actually supporting the entire structure. Typically there is one main spar that holds up the entire wing and the skin and ribs only hold a fraction of the load which is distributed to the spar. As you might imagine the spar is going to be a pretty heavy duty piece of aluminum and not easily damaged by something like this. A wing can sustain a fairly large hole as long as the spar isn’t damaged. Control cables would be a concern but hydraulics and fuel aren’t typically going to be a concern. Fuel isn’t as combustible as everyone likes to think. There are also additional tanks. Hydraulics offer redundancy on aircraft that use hydraulic control surfaces. I’ve seen a Cirrus SR20 hit a deer at takeoff speed and leave a 2.5 ft hole in the skin of the wing the went as deep as the reinforced fuel tank. The aircraft continued flight and came back around and landed just fine. Even flew to the repair airport after cleaning up some loose fiberglass. Personally what worries me more is what would happen if they fired this thing at the plexiglass windscreen. In a GA airplane that would likely be fatal.

dotancohen 8y ago
> ... I’ve seen a Cirrus SR20 hit a deer at takeoff speed ... 1. What is the Vr of a typical deer? 2. What altitude was the collision? Were both the deer and Cirrus pilot in communication with the tower?