This Globalflyer vs previous

[John Doe]

What's the difference between this globalflyer and the one used last year?

[Kyle Boatright]

"John Doe" > wrote in message
news:yfuGf.24580$Dh.5991@dukeread04...
> What's the difference between this globalflyer and the one used last year?

It is the same aircraft with some modifications to the fuel system to
prevent the accidental venting of fuel which put last year's mission in
jeopardy.

KB

[Vic7]

"John Doe" wrote in message
news:yfuGf.24580$Dh.5991@dukeread04...
What's the difference between this globalflyer and the one used last year?

It is the same aircraft with some modifications to the fuel system to
prevent the accidental venting of fuel which put last year's mission in
jeopardy.

KB

Or, more correctly: "intended to prevent the accidental venting of fuel."

It seems this time they dumped 750 lbs. on takeoff. That is, however, a 75% improvement, so they're getting better.

(source: http://www.virginatlanticglobalflyer.com/News/Thursday_latest_news.jsp and AP Newswire)

[Montblack]

("Vic7" wrote)
> Or, more correctly: "intended to prevent the accidental venting of fuel."
>
> It seems this time they dumped 750 lbs. on takeoff. That is, however, a
> 75% improvement, so they're getting better.
>
> (source: http://tinyurl.com/bwm6g and AP Newswire)


I don't want to be poisonously cynical ....but ...don't these fuel losses
generate tons of interest in a 'Virgin Atlantic' flight that would otherwise
be a non-event for most of the world's press?

They made a movie about Apollo 13!


Montblack
Apollo 12? Ho-hum.

[Jay Honeck]

> I don't want to be poisonously cynical ....but ...don't these fuel losses
> generate tons of interest in a 'Virgin Atlantic' flight that would
> otherwise be a non-event for most of the world's press?
>
> They made a movie about Apollo 13!

Wow, Montblack, that's cynicism on a scale and scope that even I dare not
approach!

Must be the weather...pretty crappy here, too.

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Marc J. Zeitlin]

Montblack wrote:

> I don't want to be poisonously cynical ....but ...don't these
> fuel losses generate tons of interest in a 'Virgin Atlantic'
> flight that would otherwise be a non-event for most of the
> world's press?

I realize that you're 1/2 joking, but as someone who sits next to the
folks at Scaled that are analyzing this mission on a minute by minute
basis to ensure Steve's safety and understand the performance of the
airplane, I can assure you that this isn't the case.

As a cynical person myself, my motto is: "never attribute to malice what
can be attributed to stupidity". Although I would never use the word
"stupidity" in this case, I would use the word "ignorance", where
"ignorance" is purely descriptive, and has no pejorative value.

The fuel system on the GF is extremely complex for many reasons (W&B,
fuel flow, prevention of fuel freezing, etc.), and determining what's
going to happen in a full fuel situation is non-trivial (especially
since the two ATW flights are the only ones in which the plane has ever
been fully fueled). So, while modifications were made to ameliorate the
fuel loss, apparently they didn't work perfectly, but the fuel system
did work better than last time.

--
Marc J. Zeitlin
http://www.cozybuilders.org/
Copyright (c) 2006