Maxepr1

10 bucks says,they either become weather vanes at local airports or wind up sitting next to the Beech Starships some where...

LeeMat

Very expensive proposition...It's best to come up with the correct fix, not the quickest fix while this problem is at its infancy. If one of these airplanes catches fire in the middle of the ocean it's all over with no other recourse but to park it side by side with the Caravelle.

UAL T38 Phlyer

I'm going with 90 days. Boeing will push for 30, the FAA will want 120; compromise will be 90.

Outcome will be a new type of Lithium battery (less subject to impact damage/thermal runaway), an improved (and heavier) containment system, some type of fire-extinguishing capability that routes directly into said containment system, and supporting peripheral equipment (charging/monitoring, etc).

There will be a lawsuit from the airlines asking for damages from lost revenue. It will take three years, and be settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

Boeing stock will dip until the new system is certified, the aircraft get back in the air, and no fires happen for a week or two.

Remember: technically, a nightmare is still a dream.........liner.

Maxepr1

Boeing just purchased 100 PRIUS batteries from from toyota..... Expect them flying soon!!!!

SoCalGuy

I hope your 'in the ballpark' for Boeing's sake, as well as the Company's.

Let's just hope one guy's opinion, out of MIT, does not come to fruition as he plays his own round of "Nostradamus".

MIT Professor: Battery Fix Could Ground 787 Until 2014 - Forbes

Flyguppy

Based on the limited training they gave us on Li-On batteries, halon is ineffective on these types of fire and even exacerbate the situation.

Only way to stop the thermal runaway is liquid.....water, etc.

And a "containment system" would smother the fire as well. And again, exacerbate the problem by keeping the heat in.

These fires do NOT need oxygen to burn. They produce their own O2!!!!

UAL T38 Phlyer

Yes, that is my thinking. (ie, Halon and CO2 are no good, but you still need them for general cargo suppression). I am assuming some type of liquid and/or liquid-chemical could at least reduce the ferocity of the fire (I've seen the FAA demo movie, very disconcerting).

If one of the other sub-types of Lithium battery were used (and I'm not an expert here, I just know there are many types), it could be contained in a steel box. (I think the original battery already is, from the pictures of the BOS aircraft). It should have its own pressurized-liquid suppression system. That would also mean a dedicated vent-tube to outside the hull in order to displace the air if the liquid was dispensed, then a valve to seal it when the containment box filled. The valve would also have to be a pressure-relief if the liquid boiled.

The containment box could still get smoking hot, so it would probably need to be suspended between the passenger floor (ceiling in the battery-bay) and hull to provide a large air-gap, for cooling. The current design seems to have the containment box bolted to the battery-bay floor. They could even go a box within a box, with the second box filled with an inerting agent (baking soda?).

I just read the link from the MIT Professor. Interesting. It might make more sense to make each battery (eight, according to him) in a seperate containment box. And each box would need an internal cooling system.

I'm guessing it will add 500-1000 lbs to the aircraft, which is the anethma of an aircraft boasting of how much weight was saved by going all-electric.

With the economic impact involved, I don't think Boeing or Thales would take a year to get it certified. They would work overtime to git 'er done.

But it would be a far cry better than shutting it down.

The Caravelle had a fairly successful career. I think you meant the Comet, which only really had any success (very limited) in the RAF as the Nimrod.

bearcat

17 I think are being delivered. replacements? Not sure on that one.

bearcat

How quickly we forget that the 737 had rudder issues and killed hundreds. They will figure it out before long. Even the A 3 Stupid was grounded

LeeMat

The B737 had been out of assembly line for a very long time and thoundsands of airframes were on the line worldwide by the time the rudder problem surfaced in 1989. The rudder issue ADs were quick.
The B787 fix is no where in sight...Every day whistleblowers are coming forward with information about all these outsourced sub contractors. The latest info is on the Batt chargers factory in 2006 that burned to the ground after one of these then test units caught on fire. It does not look good at the moment.