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Wing Spar Crack Repairs Slow Down Airbus A380 Return To Service

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Operators of older Airbus A380s are finding that cracks in some areas of wing spars are making a return to service a significantly longer process, as inspections and repairs take weeks to complete. (aviationweek.com) More...

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jkeifer3
Joe Keifer 18
Flex Seal is the appropriate fix for sure.
davidfairchild53
david fairchild 13
Too expensive. Duct tape will do the job!
joelwiley
joel wiley 5
Is there a market for duct tape in carrier colors?
jbsimms
James Simms 5
I’d like to see someone cut the wing in half, then repair it w/Flex Seal & fly the plane. ‘Just like on TV !!!’
das5
Donald Stewart 9
I'm 90 years old, I think the DC 3 was born the same year as me, 1932. Great airplane, many trips in one while in the R.C.A.F.
bentwing60
bentwing60 16
The amount of flex in these heavy aircraft, large span modern wings during high AOA low or high airspeed events, (takeoff and landing, turbulence), means modular elasticity will have a predictable effect on aluminum and other highly stressed metals over numerous cycle events. 787's are having similar issues with titanium stringer/longeron to spar attach fittings, which is exactly what is really goin' on here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elastic_modulus

Do de maff, don't bend the wings too much.
dcmeigs
dcmeigs 8
“there are cases in which wingboxes were produced years before actual entry-into-service of the aircraft, meaning “younger” aircraft can be affected, too, if wings had been stored for an extended period.“

Not my field of expertise, but the suggestion that the wing boxes begin to fail in storage after production but before entry into service seems to beg for skepticism. Is the 7449 composite made from banana peels?
SmittySmithsonite
SmittySmithsonite 6
As an auto tech / small engine mechanic, I'm used to automakers & outdoor power equipment manufacturers cutting corners on metal (and a million other things) to save a buck. I sure hope this trend isn't making its way into aviation ...
AABABY
AABABY 11
Definitely not good.
Airbus should study DC-3 design. Some of those planes are older than I am (83)and still flying
TimDyck
Tim Dyck 3
Hmmm what is the weight difference between those two planes? And how many lbs per square foot of wing?
ImperialEagle
ImperialEagle -2
The -3 is not a pressurized aircraft and as such is not subjected to the level of metal fatigue found in aircraft structures that are pressurized.
mcousins
Mark Cousins 8
The A380 wing spar structures are not subject to any pressurisation cycles or loads, so this is irrelevant. But we are talking about components far out on a wing that carries enormous loads which vary greatly. I suspect that the engineering challenges are very different from those faced by the DC-3 designers.
21voyageur
21voyageur 4
@Joe , , ,, you a financial advisor to the airlines? Hahaha..

Cheers
ImperialEagle
ImperialEagle 9
The mentality of the folks at Airbus baffles me. Chunks of paint and composite, wing cracks, etc. none of that constitutes a problem to them. As airframe manufacturers, they certainly are arrogant. I am sure some of their customers and some of those who might be a customer some day are thinking the same thing. They don't stand by their products, and nothing is a problem. I would not be too encouraged to buy from them. All commercial and military airframe manufacturers have had to deal with wing cracks from time to time. They figure out a fix, take care of it, and move on.
karandjoh
John Reilly -1
They don't stand by their products,

I note that the story says that Airbus are doing the work - “Airbus is fixing everything..."
py4cr
py4cr 2
I just observe....
pcaronlpcaron
Phil Caron 1
With these issues surfacing, maybe Boeing could have found a market for the 747-8 as a replacement to the 380 which will become too expensive to fix. Wing issues to my knowledge is something that did not affect 747's.
BayneJust
Bayne Just 0
When I was flying lot for business my moto was "If it isn't a Boeing, I'm not going".
ewrcap
ewrcap 6
Hey, I’m a Boeing supporter too but with that attitude, you’re going to miss half your flights!
gewy
gewy 2
Passengers of flights JT610 and ET302 had the same moto...
mitjapodpecan
Mitja Podpecan -2
Good they don't fly with major issues like Boeing.
porbob52
Bob Hearst -1
Boeings don't do this ! Great structure and amateur flight software.

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