David , thanks for your insight . It must be heart breaking to see the drastic change that you witnessed . I sense that you felt a great joy in working for ,or suppling Boeing and had much pride in being with or affiliated with Boeing . But if i may say this about the Corporate leadership . Is it not possible , that the # of certification problems , they slipped by the FAA ,, is not just bad business , but criminally libel ? By the way i know the company that " they " came from . At that company , they suffered some catastrophic crashes . But thanks for sharing ...........DGR

(Written on 28/08/2021)(Permalink)

Hello Bob , The same bench mark is often true for the airlines . The quality of an airline often falls on the quality of the staff inspectors , within the maintenance departments . But here again , the failings of inspectors , and quality of mainatnence often is exposed as poor when the airline suffers an accident . Then when the National Inspectors come in to see what happened , such as the NTSB , the short comings are publicly exposed . It is often a major blow to the airlines . But in the airline that my family worked for , they strived for the best . I'm not saying that short cuts or cost doesn't often get involved in the duties of inspectors . But when a company just simply over rides the inspectors and just has them rubber stamping documents , then there is a corparate failure . This situation must be changed ....Thanks for your reply Bob .......DGR

(Written on 28/08/2021)(Permalink)

Hello to all . I'd like to make a general observations on the comments that have been left by others .When i 1st joined the FlightAware news letter , the discussions where sensible .. Then the comments fell into conspiracy and anti government retoric . At this point it was clear to me , that the lovers of all things aviation ,were not around . So i stopped replying and reading the FlightAware articles . But it is nice to see a return to a polite discussion . Thats my general observation for what it's worth , DGR

(Written on 28/08/2021)(Permalink)

Hello Jeff , Thanks for your reply . I have taken it to heart your comments and would like to reply . I've been alive for a while ,and had the good fortune of growing up in an airline family . I remember the days , of prototypes of the 720 and 747 and many others . In those days , when Boeing operated under the oversight of the FAA , Boeing produced not only good aircraft , but when they said their aircraft where safe , you could beat the house on it . It was a similar story for airforce models , like , for instance , the B-52 . The quality and safety that went into a Boeing aircraft , was highly regarded and often above reproach . I'm thoughtful about my comments , and i am not just shooting off my mouth . But Boeings recent calamities involving multiple models both civilian and military , shows that something has really changed . Jeff ,i don't beleive that i am nieve . I'm just looking back over what ways a stellar reputation , to what is now suspect . But thank-you Jeff for your

(Written on 27/08/2021)(Permalink)

This story , this revelation , by Boeing staff , is the same as any agency , goverment or , for example , a Police force ,that is responsible for watching it's self . Eventually the manipulation and burial of info will come to light . Then we , as a society , are aghast at the disclosure . But really , when we think about , it is of no surprise , that an organization that has been given the right to handle its' own affairs , will bend , break , bury and deny its bad behaviour . For myself , it is a sad day when a Company ,such as Boeing ,that has had such a stellar reputation , has been dragged into the same muck as others . But thats life . If it sells aircraft ,then the end ,justifies the means .

(Written on 27/08/2021)(Permalink)

maybe your right , and i stand corrected . but it still sounds to me ,like a put down . But i do appreciate your insight .

(Written on 30/07/2021)(Permalink)

I agree with Lee . Why must people always get their noses bent out of shape , when someone creates such a marvel . Then they use a cheap put down , like 'what a waste of money " You must be with-out and cheap .

(Written on 30/07/2021)(Permalink)

If i may , i'd like to make a general observation about the participation of people on this site . Over a year ago when i joined , there was a lot of comments offered and the banter was very interesting . I have to admit that i looked forward to each Friday , when i would receive the next batch of aviation news . But now there are few comments made and i wonder why ? The only thing i can think is that the concerns of the Pandemic , the damage that it has caused in our lives , has taken the fun out of participating in this site . We have more Important things to take care of . I would hate to see this Site disappear , and believe that as our personal lives begin to improve , people will return to this site . I hope that everybody has a Good and Safe Day . Yours Truly ......DGR

(Written on 24/04/2021)(Permalink)

I always marvelled at it as an engineering feat that it was . But i also viewed it as an accident waiting to kill hundreds . If you watch the TV Show " May Day " . they did an episode on the near fatal event of a Qantas A-380 that had the inboard # 2 engine dis-integrate . The Flight Crew was over whelmed by alarms , flashing lights and error messages in a cascading situation . By the time , the Flt Deck Crew got a grasp of what had happened about 15 minutes had gone by . Thats , a bloody long time in aviation . I came to the conclusion that the Flt Deck is as much or more complex than the Old Space Shuttles . We did build it . But was it morally right ? Thats my thoughts on it ..........

(Written on 23/04/2021)(Permalink)

There is a lot of back and forth as to how sleek or not MD-80's are . Personally they get my vote too . But if i may toss a wrench into the discussions , if one believes the rear engine T-Tail formate looks great , does any-one have an opinion of a B.O.A.C Super VC-10 ? For me , it was a DC-9 taken to the Max . Have a good day .

(Written on 27/03/2021)(Permalink)