9/25/2003: Super Guppy

xoxoxoBruce · 09-27-2003, 08:06 PM

They never really got deployed Spode. They were still in training (learning curve) mode when they were shut down. They've been going through a series of revisions and government reviews. The contract was changed for a slower ramp up in production but a slightly larger end total.
Weight is always a big problem. At one point one of the engineers came up with a change in the computer that would save 5 oz and they gave he and his wife a 2 week trip to Hawaii. This was back before they got the first prototype in the air.
One crashed on its first flight because the sensors were wired backwards and as soon as it was 3 feet off the ground the computer thought the ship was upside and turned it over. Well it tried anyway. Bunch of people got fired over that one.
The one that crashed in MD on it's way back from testing in FL was wierd. I heard they skipped a stop to make up time as there was a bunch of Generals waiting with a brass band to greet them in MD. Never heard what the offical cause was but they had buzzed the field and were coming around for a landing when they went in the water.
Then they had the stink about the commander falsifying records to make it look like they were available for duty when routine maintainance hadn't been done yet. As I understand it they weren't actually flown with out being serviced but it gave the program a black eye. Probably the commander was pressured by higher ups to do it, but he took the fall.
I still don't know why the one that crashed in the Carolinas had so many people on board while training the pilots in group flight.
In our results oriented society and with the high cost of development on new stuff, they're pushing this new equiptment into service as quickly as they can. Might be too quickly.

Oh..for the record..none of the ships I worked on have crashed.

09-27-2003, 08:06 PM	#16
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	They never really got deployed Spode. They were still in training (learning curve) mode when they were shut down. They've been going through a series of revisions and government reviews. The contract was changed for a slower ramp up in production but a slightly larger end total. Weight is always a big problem. At one point one of the engineers came up with a change in the computer that would save 5 oz and they gave he and his wife a 2 week trip to Hawaii. This was back before they got the first prototype in the air. One crashed on its first flight because the sensors were wired backwards and as soon as it was 3 feet off the ground the computer thought the ship was upside and turned it over. Well it tried anyway. Bunch of people got fired over that one. The one that crashed in MD on it's way back from testing in FL was wierd. I heard they skipped a stop to make up time as there was a bunch of Generals waiting with a brass band to greet them in MD. Never heard what the offical cause was but they had buzzed the field and were coming around for a landing when they went in the water. Then they had the stink about the commander falsifying records to make it look like they were available for duty when routine maintainance hadn't been done yet. As I understand it they weren't actually flown with out being serviced but it gave the program a black eye. Probably the commander was pressured by higher ups to do it, but he took the fall. I still don't know why the one that crashed in the Carolinas had so many people on board while training the pilots in group flight. In our results oriented society and with the high cost of development on new stuff, they're pushing this new equiptment into service as quickly as they can. Might be too quickly. Oh..for the record..none of the ships I worked on have crashed. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

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