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Nik H.

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Posts posted by Nik H.

  4. Posted · Report reply

    US194k a pop, not inclusive of local taxes and the precious AP. :rolleyes:

     

    Dumb idea the flying car. Really dumb idea. Its probably a poor handling car, and is also an inefficient airplane.

     

    USD194k @ 3.7 = RM717k.

     

    Good 2nd hand Cessna 172 with 4 seats = RM 300,000.

    Good 2nd hand Lotus Elise with 2 seats = RM 130,000

    Still have RM RM 280k in hand, enough to pay for maintenance, hangarage and lots of flying costs for the Cessna. And petrol for the Lotus.

    And when its time to sell the Cessna, you'd probably get back your investment. Likewise the Lotus.

     

    The 172 will fly better than the 'ahem' flying car, and the Lotus will eat up Ferraris when the roads starts twisting.

     

    The Flying car is more likely to remain grounded as a comercial project.

  6. Posted · Report reply

    1. The best seats in an aeroplane during turbulence are the ones nearest or where the CG of the aircraft is located, normally just slightly aft of the center of the wing. The reason is that there will be the least polar movement effect due to minimum leverage. It is also the area of least flex. Aeroplanes are designed with some amount of flexibility built in as a too rigid structure will induce metal fatigue faster. Just as the wings visibly flex during flight, the fuselage too flex. Aircraft with long fuselage to width ratio are the worst. Examples are the A340-600 or the DC8-62. The B777-300 is more affected by turbulence compared to the B777-200.

     

    2. Turbulence will be worse the lighter the aircraft is as an aircraft with lighter wing loading will be affected more, as wing loading is a subject of weight over wing area. So a fully loaded aircraft will be less affected by turbulence as compared to when it is empty.

     

    3. The speed of of an aircraft when it enters turbulence is reduced in proportion to its weight. Ie, a B777 with a full load will enter turbulence at a higher speed when it is fully loaded compared to when it is lightly loaded. Generally, turbulence penertration speed is midway between its MMO ( max speed ) and stall speed, which varies depending on its weight. Reducing too much speed will also reduce the controllability of the roll, pitch and yaw control devices which is why saying simply reducing speed in turbulence is not entirely correct. At high altitude, the spread of speed between maximum and minimum can be as little as 40 knots.

     

    4. Older airplanes such as the B737-200/300, the B747 Classics gives the best ride in turbulence. The best of the best is the DC10. Modern aircraft such as the A330/340 are the worst, with the B777 being just slightly better. These modern airplanes have very wings, giving lower wing loading than the older ones, hence are more susceptible to air disturbance.

     

    5. Airframe failure causing catastrophic mid air break-up has happened but are very very rare. Aeroplanes are built very very strong, and modern aircraft must be able to withstand + 2.5 to - 1.5 G to meet civil airline certification. Most aeroplane are built to withstand twice the Regulatory requirement. The B747 wing can flex 18 ft at the wingtip before onset of deformation.

     

    6. Turboprops rocks more than jets primarily because turboprops fly at an altitude where cloud activity are most intense.....between 10,000 to 28,000 feet. Jets normally fly higher than that altitude.

     

    7. A good knowledgeable pilot will be able to use and decipher the weather radar returns better than an average button pushing four striper and while all pilots will be able to avoid the most hazardous precipitation related turbulence, the better ones will be able to give their passengers a more comfortable ride.

     

    Feel free to add or correct.

  8. Posted · Report reply

    2000knots/hr????

    What a crock of sh&t. knots is a measurement of speed, not distance. Like light years is a measurement distance, not speed.

     

    Nobody who claims to be in aviation, be it as someone who flies planes or even those who post 'expert comment' will say knots per hour or per minute. knots is nautical miles per hour.

     

    Either the pilot is cuckoo / kopi o type or he said 2000ft/min and the press and expert commentators pounced on 2000knots/min.

     

    Jokers and clowns......

  9. Posted · Report reply

    Maybe, just maybe that MAS' restructuring program could help mitigate the company from the current downturn. If it does have that effect, then MAS had a stroke of luck as it undertook a resuscitation program to stay afloat while it prepared the company for a global downturn...

     

    Time will tell...

     

    Very perceptive Azreen. But i don't think its just by pure chance and luck alone.

    I vividly recall how disappointed some members were with MH's conservative approach to expansion.

  11. Posted · Report reply

    O/T

    Winglets will save about 1.5% - 2% fuel burn. Assuming the aircraft does about 8 one hour sectors per day, and does so for 11.3 months a year, the operator will get about 28 one hour sectors free of charge in so far as fuel is concerned.

     

    There are however other intangible savings the efficiency of winglets will yield.

  13. Posted · Report reply

    I think the -500 was a bit underpowered as it was powered by the 18.5k engines. The 400 and 300F were powered by the 22k engines. I remember doing the MH 6010/6011 newspaper run, heavy to KCH, half full to BKI then empty going back to SZB. The empty -300F was a rocket.

     

    About the flap limit for the -500, if I'm not mistaken Flaps 1 and 5 limit was 230 kts unlike the -400 which goes to 250 kts.

     

    Quite right there, but in its early days, the engines was set at 22.5K as the limits was more a little hardware and software tweak. Later on, for pure economic reasons it was limited to 18.5k. If I remember correctly VMC speeds were also high due to a shorter moment arm.

  14. Posted · Report reply

    Further trivias:

     

    An MH 732 lost one main undercarriage on a ferry flight from JHB to KUL-Subang. I believe the whole wheel came off during approach and landed - fortunately - in an oil palm plantation. Plane landed at Subang in the early evening and blocked the sole runway till next day.

     

    Also, the first private 737 registered/ based in M'sia, a -300 operated for Country Heights, 9M-CHG.

     

    Questions:

    - did MH ever operate a combi version of the 732?

    - how many of MH's 732 had integral "airstairs" for Door 1?

     

    A B732 did lose one of its main gear assembly out of JHB.

     

    CHG was rumoured to have a putting 'green' on board.

     

    Combi....in its very early days. 2 aircraft i think.

     

    9M-MBK (B737-200ADV) used to have an airstairs but was deactivated for most part of its life. It also had an INS system and an auxilliary tank. It was initially planned to be used as a ' once in a while' VIP aircraft for the government but eventually that too did not happen.

     

    The B737-500 is my favorite B737 series, having flown the -200,300,400 and the 500. Its the size of the -200, but with the power of the -400. Occasionally to relieve boredom, we set full power on take off and it hit the skies at almost 6000fpm climb rate, much to the amazement of ATC. A real tonic for speedfreaks. However, it was not as flexible on approach as the flap extension speeds were lower than the B734, so some care needs to be taken when charging dwn on a hi-speed approach.

     

    It was used on the longer sectors then but eventually it was phased out as it imposed aircraft rotation nightmare when intergrated into the scheduling system.

     

  15. Posted · Report reply

    Ryan wrote

     

    You have a bunch of GLCs dealing with a gung-ho privately run company / conglomerate. Needless to say there WILL be a clash of cultures. So yes, I am grouping all the GLCs into one camp while AK is in the opposite side of the court.

     

    Your views are ok Ryan. Definitely there is at least one GLC that is affected by AK, and that would be Mh, for obvious reasons. But your statement seems to indicate that MAHB and MH are in bed against AK, and MAHB is making things difficult for AK so MH can be in a better position.

     

    I don't think that is true at all. MAHB probably has their reasons for being the way they are. But their disagreement with AK is not done for MH's benefit at all. I asked clarification merely on that count.

     

    MH has always avoided having a verbal war with AK although through the years potshots have been taken against MH by AK. Perhaps the fact MH belongs to the Government requires the management to exercise restraint in its responses but AK, being a private concern, can say and do anything they want.

     

    Definitely the ground is not level, but to think that it is to MH's advantage is not quite correct.

     

    AK has done very very well, lots of people have gained from its low fares offerings, but it is two way and to think that that is done purely for the rakyat would be rather shortsighted. It would be very interesting to see how the future will be for AK with the current economic stuation.

     

    They have two 180 seat A320 arriving per month, and that means an additional 2500 seats capacity per day for every 30 days. Then another additional 2500 seats per day gets added up every 30 days. It will be interesting to see where the additional pax are coming from locally to fill up those seats.

     

    Probably DS Tony's brilliance can work something out.

     

    Whatever it is, the Labu issue, whether it was real or another Sonic Cruiser tactic, has brought something good for AK. Good being relative that is.

  16. Posted · Report reply

    Sigh, despite my objections to the Labu-Labi project I feel TF's pain. I hope MAHB will realise someday that by making things difficult on the short term by bickering back and forth and presenting one obstacle after another so that MAS can flourish, it will only hurt KLIA's status in the long run.

     

    Ryan,

     

    Are you saying that MAHB is making things difficult for Air Asia for MH's benefit? Or did I read you wrong?

     

     

  18. Posted · Edited by Nik H. · Report reply

    I'll track the aircraft journey as I'll liaise with MH Flight Control Centre and also get info from the Fleet Captain of the fleet and post it here in MW.

     

    Watch this thread.

     

    PS. I'd prefer slow shutter speed ( for motion blur ) or high bokeh so the aircraft will stand out in the picture. :yahoo:

  19. Posted · Report reply

    of course, I have to be in BKI on that date. :( Anyway thanks Capt Nik.

     

    I'll try to get the exact time for the planned landing.

     

    For What's its Worth, the first High Quality picture of the B738 to land at KLIA will get a B744 Hibiscus as well as a B747 Manchester United Asia Tour models. Please claim the prizes from the Charter Office on presentation of a Printed 10R picture and the soft copy of the photograph.

     

    CHEERS

  21. Posted · Report reply

    This is embarrassing to think some of our member have this type of thought. Surely influenced by Hollywood and the media.

     

    Real terrorist speaks Hebrew. Remember Gaza?

     

    Feb. 21, 1972 Sinai: civilian Libyan Arab Airlines Boeing 727 shot down by Israeli fighters killing 108 pax.

     

    Some actually speak English.

    Persian Gulf, July 3, 1988. Persian Gulf: U.S. Navy cruiser Vincennes shot down Iran Air Airbus A-300 after mistaking it for an attacking jet fighter; 290 killed.

     

    Back to topic;

     

    I think MH PR is exercising restraint in responding with the full story and is very generous to the aggrieved pax in doing so. Its always the case. Airlines or large Corporations seldom take an adversorial stand against their pasengers, sometimes to its detriment.

     

     

  22. Posted · Edited by Nik H. · Report reply

    Why does it take so long to analyse the black boxes?

     

    If the Black Boxes ( FDR ) are recovered in an undamaged state, it will not take long to analyse the data. But it will take some time before other parties not directly related to the accident avail themselves that information as there are many more causal reasons that may have contributed to the accident. Its especially dangerous if aviation 'experts' ( and there are many, most of whom are educated by Discovery Channel Air Crash Investigation Show) get a bit of incomplete information and start their own version of ACI and start apportioning blame before the complete picture emerges.

     

    In the case of this crash the FDR data was probably retrieved and analysed quite some time ago, but the data could have led to other discoveries ( not the Channel ) of causal factors that require some form of bulletin to be released.

     

    Releasing these causal factors to the enthusiastic aviation experts may put innocent parties in undue bad light, the damage of which recovery can be difficult. There's also the issue of litigation.

     

    Oh No.....air data issues again....this time related to paint.........

  24. Posted · Report reply

    Off-topic discussion:

     

    This member "Malaysia Airlines" seems to be the PR department of MAS, not necessarily one person but acting as a voice of the company. See this member's post here.

     

    With Malaysia Airlines as a member this is the only official voice of MH in MW.

     

    Which is why while I may lean towards MH's side, especially when the comments are against the person rather than against the Organisation, and some were downright insulting and sweeping,

    I am here as an Aviation enthusiast first and foremost.

     

    I am sure those who are working with MH, like Capt Radzi, F/O Khaled are of the same mind.

  25. Posted · Report reply

    BAD MH. Very BAD MH. BAD IFS.

     

    BUT. Need to verify story from all sides.

     

    That sector is known as the 'Upgrade Me and Everything is OK' sector.

     

    MH Customer response should do something about it. If it is true, every word as described, then proper action should be taken against the crew concerned, ( verbal warning, written warning, increment potong, demote or sack ), the Customer Response staff if it is not handled well, ( verbal warning, written warning, increment potong, demote or sack ), or, IF shown that it is a frivolous complaint, passenger should be revealed as such.

     

    Alan B. knows how seriously the company will come down on a Cabin Crew should a written complaint is received, its like 'Guilty Until Proven Innocent'.

     

    I can't do much as I'm busy having fun working hard to make money in my little area.

     

    Cheers.

     

    Ps. This is why I never believe in the saying about "The Customer is Always Right" . I believe that only "The Right Customer is Always Right"

     

    In this case, both are customers. But only one is the right customer. The other is one we can do without. IF the story is true to the last detail.

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