Do you distrust some engineering? Like bridges, roads, electronics, buildings, vehicles, planes, trains etc etc?

[Chrispy]

I have more concern about neglect than outright bogus engineering.
I do get a thrill parking on any number of long span highway bridges. The rocking and rolling when a semi truck rolls on by gives me the giggles. Biggest disappointment? Walking across the Golden Gate bridge. Even in the middle of the span I couldn't detect any movement. I guess the period was too low for me to sense.

Did you do the walk the anniversary closing where the mass of people caused issues without vehicles? I had a roommate out there and he said it was on the scary side of things, altho nothing particularly bad happened other than a bit of crowd panic....otoh I've cycled across the GGB many many times, but only the wind would cause particularly noticeable movements....

 

[JSmith]

In Taiwan;

JSmith

 

[mSpot]

I cross over a bridge span that must be I'm guessing ~180' high (~55m.)

I don't think it looks anywhere near 55m high in that photo. I searched for photos of objects around that height.

Home Insurance Building, Chicago (55m high)

Ferris wheel, Cologne Germany (55m high)

Leaning Tower of Pisa (56m at highest point)

 

[tomtoo]

Thats crazy.
They accidentally pulled the plug in the bathroom tub.

 

[Suffolkhifinut]

It was really only the first year's production that had major issues but the car never lost that reputation even though later ones were a good second hand buy. Assuming you were happy to drive a seriously uncool car. A girlfriend had a 1976 one and it was constant trouble. Although she was into horses and motorbikes too so she didn't think it was unusual to have to give a car constant attention to keep it running.

Hower my mother ran a later HLE model for several years with zero issues,. It flew through MOTs. Got written off when a doctor smashed into after failing to look when pulling out.

They did have quite a lot of room inside and were pretty comfortable.

When the Allegro was launched went to a dealer to take a look. It looked like a Wart on wheels!

 

[Mart68]

When the Allegro was launched went to a dealer to take a look. It looked like a Wart on wheels!

It wasn't the most attractive car around even by the standards of the time, I agree.

This is what the original concept was:

 

[Multicore]

When has an Airbus plane done that? Or Boeing, other than the 737 MAX?

The Airbus case I was thinking of was a Quantas plane that repeatedly went into hard vertical manouvers, throwing people around the cabin and causing many serious injuries. The pilots were able to land the plane but what it did was nasty.

As for Boeing and the 737 MAX, apart from those times I was arrested, I never beat my wife.

 

[Suffolkhifinut]

It wasn't the most attractive car around even by the standards of the time, I agree.

This is what the original concept was:

Used to live in Brentford Dock, just over the wall in Syon Park was the British Motor Museum. Many good car designs that fell by the wayside, usually due to internal squabbling between different divisions in BMC/British Leyland. Too many competing egos determined not to let any part of the company best the others. One of the saddest was a 4 wheel drive Mini Moke not made because Land Rover said no.

 

[OWC]

I trust the science. It's the maintenance that is the weak link.

Trusting or believing in one sentence with science.

It still always raises an eyebrow here.
First of all, it's not some kind of "religion", so there is not common sense of just believing.
If tomorrow a whole new paper came out with solid prove that certain ideas are totally wrong, everyone is more than happy to except and swap.

Second, what other method would one expect in something like a bridge?
Just randomly put stuff together and hope it works?

I guess in this case what is meant, is the construction part even before the engineering part.
Especially when there is money and politics involved, that is not always very transparent and objective.
Which unfortunately gives engineers a (very) bad name.

I have been in certain occasions that I wasn't feeling particularity safe either

@Doodski
In the opening post, I find it a rather small cute little bridge (we wouldn't call it a bridge actually lol)
The whole structure is already kinda supporting on its own, which we can't say of a few of these magnificent hanging bridges.
The scariest part here lays within the details, often just micro cracks in the materials.
Which is really a challenge when bridges are close to the ocean with heavy traffic going over it.
Most of these things are also being checked, supervised and maintained on a very regular basis.

 

[Mart68]

The Airbus case I was thinking of was a Quantas plane that repeatedly went into hard vertical manouvers, throwing people around the cabin and causing many serious injuries. The pilots were able to land the plane but what it did was nasty.

That was Quantas Flight 72 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qantas_Flight_72 - problem was caused by a computer fault the cause of which was never established.

 

[Suffolkhifinut]

Trusting or believing in one sentence with science.

It still always raises an eyebrow here.
First of all, it's not some kind of "religion", so there is not common sense of just believing.
If tomorrow a whole new paper came out with solid prove that certain ideas are totally wrong, everyone is more than happy to except and swap.

Second, what other method would one expect in something like a bridge?
Just randomly put stuff together and hope it works?

I guess in this case what is meant, is the construction part even before the engineering part.
Especially when there is money and politics involved, that is not always very transparent and objective.
Which unfortunately gives engineers a (very) bad name.

I have been in certain occasions that I wasn't feeling particularity safe either

@Doodski
In the opening post, I find it a rather small cute little bridge (we wouldn't call it a bridge actually lol)
The whole structure is already kinda supporting on its own, which we can't say of a few of these magnificent hanging bridges.
The scariest part here lays within the details, often just micro cracks in the materials.
Which is really a challenge when bridges are close to the ocean with heavy traffic going over it.
Most of these things are also being checked, supervised and maintained on a very regular basis.

Engineering is the application of science and technology, cost considerations get the better of science, technology and engineering. In the UK we are being plagued with collapsing buildings due to the use of high alumina concrete. Most of the building were built for the public sector. Populated by highly qualified engineers with little or no practical experience. Our roads are constantly being repaired within a short time they are in an equally bad state. We used to give out short term contracts for individual jobs, now they contract the work out for 5 years, then they wash their hands of it. Over here the decision to get 50% of kids into University has been a disaster. Hundreds of thousands graduating every year, saddled with debt needing to find a well paying job ASAP just to survive.

 

[RayDunzl]

I was asking about the suggestion that "Boeing and Airbus air-plains sometimes take control away from pilots and try to crash the plane, sometimes successfully." Nothing about the crash you mention fits that description.

"Official reports concluded that the pilots flew too low, too slow, failed to see the forest and accidentally flew into it. The captain, Michel Asseline, disputed the report and claimed an error in the fly-by-wire computer prevented him from applying thrust and pulling up. In the aftermath of the crash, there were allegations that investigators had tampered with evidence, specifically the aircraft's flight recorders ("black boxes")."

It was the first passenger-carrying flight of the A320, reporters and so forth.

Neither pilot was a new-hire.

 

[Blumlein 88]

"Official reports concluded that the pilots flew too low, too slow, failed to see the forest and accidentally flew into it. The captain, Michel Asseline, disputed the report and claimed an error in the fly-by-wire computer prevented him from applying thrust and pulling up. In the aftermath of the crash, there were allegations that investigators had tampered with evidence, specifically the aircraft's flight recorders ("black boxes")."

It was the first passenger-carrying flight of the A320, reporters and so forth.

Neither pilot was a new-hire.

I heard it was a conspiracy by Boeing to give a bad rep to a competitor. (NOT TRUE)

 

[RayDunzl]

I heard it was a conspiracy by Boeing to give a bad rep to a competitor. (NOT TRUE)

try this - http://www.crashdehabsheim.net/CRenglish phot.pdf

 

[mansr]

"Official reports concluded that the pilots flew too low, too slow, failed to see the forest and accidentally flew into it. The captain, Michel Asseline, disputed the report and claimed an error in the fly-by-wire computer prevented him from applying thrust and pulling up. In the aftermath of the crash, there were allegations that investigators had tampered with evidence, specifically the aircraft's flight recorders ("black boxes")."

It was the first passenger-carrying flight of the A320, reporters and so forth.

Neither pilot was a new-hire.

I read that the pilot had no experience doing display flights. Was there any actual evidence of tampering? I doubt it.

 

[JSmith]

Quantas Flight 72

Strangely... there is no U in Qantas.

The established facts are documented here;

The Aviation Herald

Aviation Herald - News, Incidents and Accidents in Aviation

avherald.com

Full report and animation here;

Investigation: AO-2008-070 - In-flight upset - Airbus A330-303, VH-QPA, 154 km west of Learmonth, WA, 7 October 2008

JSmith

 

[Mart68]

Strangely... there is no U in Qantas.

Well there damn well should be! I shall be writing a strongly-worded e-mail to their CEO.

No, I knew, my brain obviously was on autopilot. Isn't it an acronym? Queensland and Northern Territory or something similar?

 

[Ornette]

No, I knew, my brain obviously was on autopilot. Isn't it an acronym? Queensland and Northern Territory or something similar?

No, that would be Qantoss.

 

[Astrozombie]

That's a toughy with the whole computers on airplanes, all in all though I bet you it would end up saving a lot more planes from crashing than causing any crashes.............probably the airlines fault for not properly training their pilots.

Also absolutely do not look up incidents of elevators malfunctioning with people around...........