>>1354592More gems.
>Wow. So, they trick-f'd the -11 with software to make it behave like an MD-10, so they can get common type? I am sure Boeing pushed the snot out of this to the FAA because FedEx had promised to convert a ton of DC-10s...as long as it didn't cost them money (like having a separate MD-10 and MD-11 type rating/training program). It's starting to stink in here.In reference to:
>Boeing has developed an MD-11 FCC software upgrade—FCC-908—that wasFAA-certified on May 23, 2000. The upgrade primarily comprises modifications to three
subfunctions—PRD, pitch attitude protection (PAP), and positive nose lowering (PNL)—
of the LSAS. Boeing refers to these LSAS subfunctions as a low altitude stability
enhancement (LASE) package.
Boeing indicates that the LASE package implementation has two design goals.
The first is to employ the existing LSAS to provide deterrence against tailstrikes; Boeing
indicates this goal was established in response to the Safety Board’s Safety
Recommendation A-93-59. The second goal is to augment the natural aircraft longitudinal
handling qualities, via LSAS, in a manner approximating the handling qualities of the
existing DC-10. Both objectives are intended to facilitate a common type rating between
the MD-11 and the MD-10.95
The MD-11 FCC-908 software upgrade will activate the PRD control loop below
15,000-feet pressure altitudes at a reduced gain. Whereas the -907 PRD feature was
inactive at low altitudes, the -908 PRD will remain active at 30 percent strength from
approximately 17,500 feet down to takeoff/landing field elevation. Because the PRD
increases the apparent static stability, longitudinal handling qualities of the MD-11 will be
more like those of the DC-10.
I'm not saying it was all a result of institutional Alzheimers; but given the circumstances, it sure looks like it might be.
