I'm an Airbus pilot and am curious to hear opinions from AMEs on the following subject:
Boeing v Airbus: which is tougher?
I used to fly 737-200s and generally felt they were built like tanks. The Airbus (319/320/321 in my case) seems a little less robust but this may be a false impression. How does it compare to the 737 600/700/800? Which is likely to end up on the scrapheap first?
Boeing v Airbus
Moderators: Sulako, North Shore, sky's the limit, sepia
-
Troubleshot
- Rank (9)
- Posts: 1291
- Joined: Sat May 27, 2006 12:00 pm
Hard to say which is tougher...I work on both Airbus and Boeing products and my opinion is Boeing seems to be "over-built" a bit and a more simple design which may extend it's life past the Airbus...but the Airbus is a great plane to fix and is very MX friendly if your up on your avionics 
I think we are still learning about the Airbus life span. There doesn't seem to be any AD/SB major issues that will effect it's life like on the classic 737-200 who's fuselage is about spent....(If you don't do a costly lap-joint mod), but aside from that Boeing makes a nice aircraft and would probably get my millions if I had to pick between the two.
I think we are still learning about the Airbus life span. There doesn't seem to be any AD/SB major issues that will effect it's life like on the classic 737-200 who's fuselage is about spent....(If you don't do a costly lap-joint mod), but aside from that Boeing makes a nice aircraft and would probably get my millions if I had to pick between the two.The fly by wire issue could be the major diff between the 320 and 737 families, do you trust the computers?
The cost of required aging aircraft structural maintenance is apparently what is driving the retirement/scrapping of some 737-500's while there are 737-200's still in service. The composite primary structure reliability issue is no longer strictly an Airbus problem,(A300 vertical stab, A310 rudder loss/failure) Boeing's new models have the same type of structures. Detecting the effect of the environment including repeated lightning strikes, water ingress and freezing/thaw cycles on composite is the problem. From what I understand all the composite on the dreamliner is covered in bonded in copper mesh, but lightning doesn't always play by any rules and if the carbon fiber is intenally moist it turns into a yarn ball from the exploding steam when lightning passes thru it. They are both great products tho.
The cost of required aging aircraft structural maintenance is apparently what is driving the retirement/scrapping of some 737-500's while there are 737-200's still in service. The composite primary structure reliability issue is no longer strictly an Airbus problem,(A300 vertical stab, A310 rudder loss/failure) Boeing's new models have the same type of structures. Detecting the effect of the environment including repeated lightning strikes, water ingress and freezing/thaw cycles on composite is the problem. From what I understand all the composite on the dreamliner is covered in bonded in copper mesh, but lightning doesn't always play by any rules and if the carbon fiber is intenally moist it turns into a yarn ball from the exploding steam when lightning passes thru it. They are both great products tho.
Hmmm...interesting replies. I don't..distrust the computers. Maybe I'm too trusting but they seem simple (I can't believe I said that!) as far as resets go. I've yet to see any major computer snafus and I'm guessing the technology has been around so long that most problems are routine.
So I guess that as far as robustness goes it's too soon to tell. Thanks for the info.
So I guess that as far as robustness goes it's too soon to tell. Thanks for the info.
Well, for the FBW system to go totally u/s on you it would take the failure of 5 computers.. Not impossible, but highly unlikely. There were a few problems before with the systems but a lot were more pilots not knowing how it worked or what the limitations were.
That being said, I think airbus has a big problem with the Vertical stab/Rudders. I was on my 310 course when the 300 went down in the states and our instructor was quite familiar with the deficiancies in the composite parts. Kinda scary and re-affirmed after Transat lost it's rudder.
I guess time will tell. I think the biggest problem airbus will have will be making it through the 380 problems. If they can't deliver, I think they will be toast..
That being said, I think airbus has a big problem with the Vertical stab/Rudders. I was on my 310 course when the 300 went down in the states and our instructor was quite familiar with the deficiancies in the composite parts. Kinda scary and re-affirmed after Transat lost it's rudder.
I guess time will tell. I think the biggest problem airbus will have will be making it through the 380 problems. If they can't deliver, I think they will be toast..
