KriVa wrote:I am not knowledgeable enough on the subject, but would it be possible to swap the aircraft batteries for the "tried and proven" counterpart, aka the NiCad version? Not for the long term, of course, but could they use them as a temporary solution?
I know NiCad batteries are a lot heavier and larger for the same capacity, but is there a way to make it work? Both concerning physical limits and rules set up by the different legislators?
If this would be possible, Boeing would have a rather easy way (compared to the groundings) to get the 787 flying again, and have time to work on the battery issues in coordination with the producers.
Yes, this is possible though they would be a bit heavier (I think about 100 to 200 kg in total) but that's not the issue. Even if batteries where available, it would mean that it needed certification for those batteries as the 787 currently only has certification for the batteries made by Yasu.
I'm not sure if we could speak of months of extra delay but it will add quite some time.
The easiest thing -for now- is find the actual problem and try to make an interim solution so that the fleet can fly again waiting for a definitive solution.
And meanwhile ANA is in serious problems as they handled more 787 flights then they had spare classic aircraft!
Guess ANA will espect a hugh compensation!
How long can this nightmare going on?
What about LOT's 787 ? Wth their big promos for 787 on billboards at WAW,..
Did the 787 all returned to their homebase or were they stuck where they were at the moment of the stop flightsmoment? If so where are the Lot ones now?
cathay belgium wrote:lot 787 sp-lra is sitting duck in ORD...
... and while SP-LRA made its inaugural transatlantic flight to ORD, from where it never came back, SP-LRB was on a ferry flight from WAW to Szczecin where it is still blocked.
No significant new findings while the disassembly of the battery of the JAL 787 continues. NTSB inspectors also at work at Boeing, at Securaplane in Arizona (where the charger is made) and in Japan.
LAN Airlines extends Boeing 787 service cancellation until 28FEB13 inclusive. From the NTSB press conference of last Friday, some have deducted that the grounding could last for months... At least until the cause of the fire and smoke in the batteries has been discovered and remedies proposed and implemented by Boeing and its subcontractors.
NTSB is now examining exemplar batteries of GS Yuasa to check if there aren't any manufacturing defects. More details in their latest press release (#6) delivered today 29/01/2013:
Michel Combier, the boss of the small French company Accuwatt specializing in high-performance lithium-ion batteries and supplier of the French Ministry of Interior, the French police and even Airbus A380 test flights, said in a interview: "The 787 lithium-ion batteries are the first generation, with cobalt, and known to be unstable. At the beginning of the years 2000, there was nothing else. But since then, technology has made tremendous progress. The safety of lithium-ion batteries has been multiplied by 100. I'm really surprised that such a model of battery can be on board of an aircraft." Oops!
It's not the first company to have critic on the 787-batteries. It was also said that the 787-batteries are unsafe because they are divided in just 8 cells instead of hundreds or even thousands of very small cells with room between them (allowing a better cooling and when one cell goes on fire, it will not ruin the whole battery).
But these are all companies producing batteries competing with the company that builds the 787-batteries. So I prefere to wait for the FAA or NTSB to comment on the design of the batteries (tough I do have the idea the design is indeed seriously outdated and unsafe).
... more extreme measures may be needed. Ultimately, that might mean abandoning lithium-ion batteries altogether and replacing them with nickel-cadmium (ni-cad) ones. That is what Cessna was forced to do in 2011 after the lithium battery in one of its Citation CJ4 business jets caught fire. Such a move by Boeing would keep the Dreamliner grounded for possibly as long as a year, as the plane’s electrical system was redesigned and resubmitted for certification.
Boeing could have avoided its current woes had it adopted ni-cads in the first place—or, at least, heeded recommendations for more stringent testing of lithium batteries made in 2008 by RTCA, an independent standards body that advises the FAA. Both Boeing and the FAA chose to ignore the tougher recommendations for fear of delaying the 787 Dreamliner still further. Instead, to save weight, Boeing gambled on the powerful lithium battery, knowing full well its risks. The irony is that, in doing so, all it saved was 18kg (40lb) per plane—about the same, one expert noted, as a single piece of baggage.
The examination of the battery is progressing, but there are no conclusions yet. Future tests will involve "soft" short circuits to determine their effects on the battery.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) has said it will pursue Boeing for its losses due to the 787 groundings, which so far amount to $15.4million.
The carrier cancelled around 850 flights over the last month alone, during which it sustained the losses. ANA is the 787's biggest customer with 17 of the aircraft in its fleet.
Air India is definitely a strange company. After refusing to take the 787s that had been built for them, now they are flying the Dreamliner after most regulatory authorities grounded them. Today, two Air India 787s took off from Delhi: VT-ANI operating flight AIC553 and VT-ANL operating flight AIC555.
These two flight numbers do not refer to scheduled flights. What are they trying to do? Testing the batteries?
Air India has decided they want to sell off all of their Boeing 787 aircraft and take it back onto lease to raise capital. They hope to have a deal worked out by February 4th.
A Boeing 747 Dreamlifter this week ferried Sections 43 and 45/11 from Japan to Charleston for ZB001, the first 787-9. The final assembly of the first 787-9 will be done in Everett, but the centre fuselage integration in Charleston.
There are four B747 Dreamlifters in suppory of the construction of the 787 in Boeing's fleet.
No, I do not know what he has done wrong - neither do I know what he did right. I am not at all wanting to bring in politics. Neither do I care. Those who have been around here for a while will remember that I love to play on wording, and on typo's. (which goes along with my reputation of being a rather limited pilot but one with excellent R/T skills...) This was an occasion I really couldn't let slip!
But then it really was a sideslip, I suggest we don't go on about it. I certainly didn't want to offend anyone, and if I did, I hereby apologise.
Air India plans 787 flights from DEL to LHR (replacing 772LR on one of the two daily flights) as from 31 March. They are the first to update the 787-shedule for S13 since the grounding.
Tough not a word on when the grounding will end, so it has to be seen if this will actually happen as planned.
