D C posted:

I got to run around on a brand new AA 777 on a commercial shoot for their new livery. The crew rest area was two beds and two giant comfortable captains chairs. Besides the low ceilings it would probably be the best seats in the plane.

BIG HEADLINE posted:

Laying in the beds would be nice, but don't expect a smooth ride being practically inside the tail.

KodiakRS posted:

I wonder how much AA saved over the years by not painting most of their airplanes.

The Ferret King posted:

What's the rest of that headroom along the fuselage being used for?

The Ferret King posted:

What's the rest of that headroom along the fuselage being used for?

The Locator posted:

Chemtrail tanks.

MrYenko posted:

Properly polishing aluminum is manpower-intensive

MrYenko posted:

Its a convenient place for cabling, AC ducting, that sort of thing. Anything that isn't a fluid generally gets run up above the cabin, but it's still more dead space than you would initially imagine. In non-FBW aircraft, the control cables are generally up there as well, running along the center-line.

MrYenko posted:

Not enough. Economics are one of the main reasons they cite for going to paint with the new livery. Properly polishing aluminum is manpower-intensive, and a protective clearcoat to cut down on polishing just diminishes the weight advantage that you had from not painting it in the first place. Also, a lot of their new airplanes are or will have significantly more composites in them, which means they'd have to be painted anyway.

fknlo posted:

Understatement of the year. I had aluminum wheels on an old S10 I had in college. They looked so good when done but it took an insane amount of work. Any kind of interaction with water involved it needing to be done again. Never again.

tactlessbastard posted:

Heh, manpower expensive didn't stop the Eight air force.

Delivery McGee posted:

Kinda disappointed that B-52s have never been bare metal, come to think of it.

quote:

Questions about Allegiant's safety and maintenance practices are being raised after a fourth flight to leave Orlando Sanford International Airport in a week was diverted on Thursday because of mechanical issues.

An Allegiant flight left Orlando Sanford for Cedar Rapids, Iowa, just after 6:20 a.m., only to be diverted to Chattanooga, Tenn., after there was an issue with the plane's right engine.

Other diversions happened Dec. 24, Monday and Wednesday. All were the result of various mechanical issues including an "indicator light," an abnormal smell in one plane and a problem with a de-icing system.

"We are concerned," said Ken Black of Orlando. "I don't think I'm going to fly them again soon, if ever."

Black's 17-year-old daughter was on the Thursday flight when the pilot notified passengers of the engine issue.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday it is investigating each incident.

Allegiant officials said the four recently diverted flights account for all mechanical-related diversions from Orlando Sanford in December.

Another seven diversions were reported at Orlando Sanford, six because of inclement weather and one medical emergency, Allegiant said.

Allegiant has been flying out of Orlando Sanford for a decade and offers nonstop flights to 65 domestic destinations. The airline also has a maintenance base there.

Robert Mann, president of R.W. Mann & Company, a New York-based independent industry analyst, said airlines average a long-term diversion rate of a half-percent on flights.

"These are random events," said Mann, a former airline executive. "But when they happen, they are obviously very meaningful to people on the flight."

For 2015, the Nevada-based budget airline has averaged 143 weekly flights out of Orlando Sanford, said Allegiant spokeswoman Kim Schaefer. In the past seven days, the height of the holiday travel season, Allegiant flew 212 flights out of Orlando Sanford.

Assuming Allegiant offered 641 flights in December, including three average weeks and the busier holiday week, the airline's diversion rate for December would be 1.7 percent.

Mechanical diversions would account for 0.62 percent of those flights.

Mann said long-term diversion rates, reflecting about a year of flights, offer a better insight into how an airline is operating or maintaining its fleet. If four mechanical-related diversions become a weekly occurrence, however, that's a red flag for potential larger issues.

"It's really hard to say," he said, adding it could be a "very bad spate of luck."

Allegiant has squared off with its own pilots for more than a year about the safety and maintenance schedule of its fleet. Pilots have repeatedly raised concerns about the safety of the craft they fly.

BIG HEADLINE posted:

If only it didn't have the damned watermark:



And a purely unpainted B-52 looks very Mad Max:

Krasniy Prospekt posted:

Hi, I've been a long time reader of this thread. Just wanted to say that I recently decided I was going nowhere at my comfortable job and enrolled in a two year aviation maintenance program. I've always loved planes and working on things, so I thought this would be a great career to explore. I've heard a lot of good things from people who have been in it, and I know we've got some military guys in this thread, but just wondering if we have any civil people? What can I expect to be doing when I get out? I'm assuming work is probably more plentiful in commercial areas versus general aviation.

They offer a certificate and an associates. I'll be going for the associates just because I have previous college that will satisfy the requirements. Is there a difference at all when it comes to finding a job? Also, if there's a thread somewhere for this, I'd love to be pointed towards it. Thanks everyone!

Party Plane Jones posted:

Apparently 4 Allegiant flights out of Orlando-Sanford Airport have had to be diverted in the past week for mechanical issues.

Krasniy Prospekt posted:

Hi, I've been a long time reader of this thread. Just wanted to say that I recently decided I was going nowhere at my comfortable job and enrolled in a two year aviation maintenance program. I've always loved planes and working on things, so I thought this would be a great career to explore. I've heard a lot of good things from people who have been in it, and I know we've got some military guys in this thread, but just wondering if we have any civil people? What can I expect to be doing when I get out? I'm assuming work is probably more plentiful in commercial areas versus general aviation.

They offer a certificate and an associates. I'll be going for the associates just because I have previous college that will satisfy the requirements. Is there a difference at all when it comes to finding a job? Also, if there's a thread somewhere for this, I'd love to be pointed towards it. Thanks everyone!

Godholio posted:

Literally. Those guys do not retire from that job.

Phanatic posted:

By any measure, killing 500 people in line at a security gate will be at *least* as devastating in its impact on public awareness as blowing up yet another plane. Do you even remember Iraqi Air Flight 163, Korean Air 858, UTA 772, Avianca 203, or like another dozen-odd planes blown up by bombs snuck on board by terrorists? Someone setting a suitcase full of Semtex and roofing nails off at a security checkpoint would have enormous ramifications, simply huge, and pointing out the fundamentally self-defeating nature of our approach to security isn't dumb, it's just not *funny*.

MrChips posted:

That's a little high; the number I've heard for a 737 is typically 250-300 pounds. The weight of paint varys (obviously) based on the colours and the number of layers needed to complete the scheme. Interestingly, a plain white scheme is about the heaviest option, as white paint typically needs a lot more pigment per volume to look right as opposed to coloured paint, as well as more coats of paint when applied.

Krasniy Prospekt posted:

Thanks for the input. I have a few connections already, and I'm in St. Louis, which is oddly a decent city for aviation business, but I have no qualms about moving. Government or DOD work would be awesome. Thanks for the input.

ickna posted:

Coffeehitler posted:

I thought the Saudis and maybe South Korea had made decent sized purchases of their respective flavors of F-15s recently?