The A320 flies about with composite primary structure and isn’t parked after 20,000 cycles.

I fail to see the relevance of the failure mode depicted in the video to the B787?

The A320 only has select composite parts (e.g. doors & nose cone), the fuselage is a dull aluminium alloy which may look like a composite on the production line but isn’t (it’s the same ‘non-shiny’ aluminium alloy used on the A330 and A380). On the A320, it’s the aluminium (rather than the composites) that takes the strain of the pressurisation cycles. Because aluminium has some give in it (like all metals) it can stretch and contract as the pressure builds, this is not the case with the full composite 787 fuselage. After tens of thousands of cycles, small hairline cracks will appear in the composite.

The blades of a wind turbine are made of similar composites to the 787, although the 787 will have been baked for longer and of course be laminated.

My best advice would be to keep up what you’re doing at the moment 🙂

Keep checking the job sites for vacancies. Like most jobs, there’s probably an employment cycle. At the moment we’re probably in the off cycle.

My guess is things will pick up in the spring when UK airports will be gearing up for the summer. Good luck 😀

Today a domestic ANA flight was cancelled after the operating 787 experienced braking problems…
http://www.news.com.au/world/all-nippon-airways-dreamliner-flight-cancelled-over-problem-break-parts/story-fndir2ev-1226550756632

If Boeing and the operators don’t do something fast – they’re going to have a run-away-train or snowball effect on their hands. Where every single day there’s a news article about a 787 fault.
This is every airline’s worst nightmare; as passengers (and more importantly business passengers who have schedules to keep) will potentially be actively seeking to avoid flying on the, brand new, aircraft.

It will also be interesting to see if airlines defer delivery of the 787 and wait for the teething troubles to sort themselves out before committing to accepting the jets. Last year I was talking to the head of the power-plant division at BA engineering, he said every airline that had ordered the 787 was looking very closely at ANA and JAL (the then operators of the aircraft) to see what issues arise. I’m not saying they will, but it is possible BA will defer the 787. They’ve already deferred the A380 until after the wing-fix is available.

Also, aren’t certification costs an issue? It can cost tens of millions to get a winglet designed, manufactured and certified – which might be an expense too far for an aircraft already being phased out.

Hopefully I quick fix solution can be found, JAL have announced they’ve grounded their 787 fleet.

The Iron Lady (2011)
Channel 4, 6 Jan, 21:00

Firstly, Meryl Streep plays a fantastic Thatcher.
The film is a very inlightening insight into Margaret’s rise to power and personal life. If nothing else it shows just how much she helped promote women in parliament. A great tribute for a great woman.

It was out in US cinemas in November. I’m getting really annoyed with the disparity in US and rest of world releases that seems to be growing again. It’s the 80s and 90s all over again!

I’m surprised, these days the global release dates are usually as close as possible to the national (US or UK) release date.

It’s a race between the distributor and the internet pirates to get the film out there. The delay of an international release only promotes internet piracy as people get desperate to see the film. Which means by the time the film is finally released in cinemas around the globe, everyone’s already seen it illegally on the internet :p