Originally Posted by
Freighthumper
Just because it doesn’t fly like every other airplane you’ve flown doesn’t mean it’s a flaw. Is a tailwheel a design flaw? You have to fly a tail dragger differently or it will bite you as well. FDX’s landing performance team has done a great job recognizing its differences and training people to operate it safely. A lot of these recommendations have made other fleets safer as well. The MU2 used to be barely insurable, then the SFAR came out requiring specific training for it. Now it has a better safety records than most other turboprops. The 11 might be a bit more demanding to fly, but in well trained and capable hands it’s a solid airplane.
Your tailwheel example brings up some interesting points: While not considered a “flawed” design, when is the last time you saw one in a rental or training fleet, or even in a flying club? (Yes, I realize there are some out there, but they are very few & far between). Why is that? Because they require extra training and are notoriously difficult to insure due to their much higher rate of accidents & incidents. They are simply mishandled too often for those types of operators to take on that level of risk. I understand that operators like FedEx & UPS have training programs that can be designed & continuously adjusted to mitigate some of the risk that comes with operating a ‘unique’ design like the MD11. Those programs have generally served them well, although the MD11 fleets at both airlines seem to have continued to have more than their share of incidents. Combine that with the fact that these airplanes have become increasingly more difficult and expensive to maintain, have had restrictions placed on them at international locations due to reliability concerns and noise, are a design from a dead manufacturer that conform to neither Boeing or Airbus design philosophy & thus require more training for transitioning pilots, are less efficient & now two generations behind currently offered airframes in the class, and you start wondering why on earth top tier operators like Fex & UPS still want to fly them. Personally, I think it’s time to take the hint & retire them.