3 ms·

I know software is bad. But using the same airframe from the 60's and just strapping bigger engines to it until you have to move the nacelle and alter flight c

• jefftk 8y ago
  "Cowboy" is one person taking shortcuts to get things done but in a risky way. This was Boeing optimizing very hard at "how do we get better fuel economy while keeping the same type rating". In general, I'm totally in favor of them doing this sort of optimization, since pilot training is legitimately a big expense. (In this case it clearly went wrong, both in that MCAS was an unsafe design and that the FAA should not have allowed it to keep the same type rating.)
  • philpem 8y ago
    There's a point where shortcuts are appropriate, and there's a point where the shortcuts actually cost you time. You can spend ten weeks messing around with "quick fixes" when it'd take two weeks to redesign the unstable or broken part. Too much of engineering is obsessed with "get the thing out there and we'll fix it in version two".