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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Pictures: Finnish F-18 engine check reveals effects of volcanic dust |
| 2010-04-18 |
| The Finnish air force has released images showing the effects of volcanic dust ingestion from inside the engines of a Boeing F-18 Hornet fighter, while it prepares to make inspections on several additional aircraft. Five of the air force's Hornets were involved in a training exercise on the morning of 15 April, just hours before the imposition of airspace restrictions due to the ash cloud spreading from a major volcanic eruption in Iceland. One aircraft's engines have been inspected so far using a boroscope, with melted ash clearly visible on its inside surface. The air force decided to release the images to show the potentially damaging effects of current flight activities, says chief information officer Joni Malkamäki. “The images show that short-term flying can cause substantial damage to an aircraft engine,' the air force says. Continued operation could lead to overheating and potentially pose a threat to the aircraft and its pilot, it adds. |
| Posted by:gromky |
| #6 phil_b I smell another bailout |
| Posted by: Hellfish 2010-04-18 21:14 |
| #5 5 days ago a Cathy Pacific Airbus had a rare twin engine failure. What are the chances the plane had recently flown to Europe. The Airlines are losing big money and most will be bankrupt within weeks unless they get flying. Desperate people do reckless things. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2010-04-18 19:51 |
| #4 So remind me not to fly Air France or KLM for the foreseeable future; even if they did get away with this stunt (this time) with no significant damage, it is cumulative; sort of like icing on the wings of an aircraft. At it builds up, performance degrades and at some point you pass the point of no return. Turbine damge from erosion is like that, as the engine degrades so does performance. While still active duty, we had to track engine parametrs for our SH-60s and wash them to remove salt deposits; that build up was not predictable; we might be doing it every night or be able to go several days or weeks. I think volcanic ash damage would be like that. Couple that with the Airbus fly by wire that disregards pilot input if that input violates the softawre logic and you are setting up for a disaster. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2010-04-18 18:04 |
| #3 It doesn't do your lungs a hell of a lot of good either. |
| Posted by: mojo 2010-04-18 15:31 |
| #2 PARIS – Air France says it's safely carried out a test flight over France for the first time since a volcanic ash plume shut down aviation over Europe. The plane traveled from Charles de Gaulle airport to Toulouse in southern France. Another test flight is under way in southwest France, it said, and three more will follow, for a total of five test flights Sunday. European airlines are pushing national regulators to reopen airspace across Europe, saying the ash appears to have diminished enough to make flying safe. Dutch airline KLM said it safely flew aircraft without passengers through a window in the cloud of volcanic ash over Europe Sunday, and pressed for an end to the total ban on commercial air traffic that has paralyzed travel across the continent. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2010-04-18 10:58 |
| #1 Ash damage in turbine engines has been well documented for 20 years. Nice little expensive mistake. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul back home 2010-04-18 01:50 |