3 ms·
They are working with novel materials, this sort of trouble isn't unprecedented, look at the de Havilland Comet problems in 1954 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D
by TrevorJ 17y ago
They are working with novel materials, this sort of trouble isn't unprecedented, look at the de Havilland Comet problems in 1954 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Comet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Comet
We didn't fully understand metal fatigue at the time and these beautifully designed planes started falling out of the sky.
There are going to be unanticipated design problems to work out, it's to be expected.
- jlangenauer 17y agoAnyone who's done an engineering course will have heard about the metal fatigue in the Comet's overhead windows. What I didn't know was the comet originally was supposed to be equipped with rockets for take-off on short runways, and at high altitude. From Wikipedia: "The Comet was originally intended to have two hydrogen peroxide powered de Havilland Sprite booster rockets for takeoff under hot and high conditions from airports such as Khartoum and Nairobi. These were tested on 30 flights, but the Ghosts were apparently powerful enough without them. The later Comet 4 was highly rated for its takeoff performance from high altitude locations such as Mexico City" Cool!
- jrockway 17y agoThanks for the link; that is a really beautiful airplane.
- TrevorJ 17y agoIndustrial design of that age was simply beautiful. The use of curves and swept lines you see from that era is really poetic. I believe a lot of it was informed by our fascination with space and rocket technology. Check out this hoover vac from the 50's, it actually used the air pressure to create pocket of air on which it hovered (on smooth surfaces) http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ol-images/la/uploads/55hoovervacuum.jpg http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ol-images/la/uploads/55hoove...