Submitted by: jasondotcom via Submit a Kludge!
If you need me, I’ll be hosting a fund-raiser for a transcontinental monorail. – Ms. Fix-It
Favorite Comment: Fixer classic says, “Dangit! I knew we shouldn’t have parked in this neighborhood – I just bought those rims! Do you know how hard it is to find 72 inch chrome wheels?!”
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i got nothin’
Is it possible that it’s just passing under the wing and happens to look like it’s holding it up?
No, cuz there’s another stack holding up the fuselage.
I thought this also, until I saw the one under the fuselage (body) of the plane. Now idk what’s going on, and I even work for an airline.
Sorry Amer, didn’t see that you said that already.
Without those crates to keep it aloft, that plane only has a wing and a prayer.
I wouldn’t bet on that “prayer” part.
Im a little concerned about the wing too.
Amen!
Amen already!!
I believe that they are using the official Boeing wing support!! (Part# 911111)
Those aren’t crates, they’re lift bags, being used to lift the plane while they do minor repairs on the landing gear. (I say minor because if were serious it wold be in a maintenance hanger somewhere)
TIFI got owned by TSK.
The idea of it is a bit kludgey, even if it’s now standard procedure. Other vehicles tend to have hard points for lifting them, you know? (But I’ll take that 90 minutes delay over the 3 or 4 hours hangar-based repair)
Um, why would they need to lift the wing? It’s supposed to be, you know, attached. Not like anything besides the attachment to the fuselage holds the wing in place at 30,000 feet. (And don’t say lift from the airspeed, because — even if that were true — it wouldn’t explain what holds the wing up while taxiing.)
Force distribution while jacking. The moments created while jacking could be significant if not applied evenly.
I know this is TIFI, but if it was my 100000000 dollars, I’d want to be sure it doesn’t roll over and crack a wing if there’s a gust of wind.
it would only be jacked a quarter of a degree at best, theres still over a hundred tons of steel and aluminium well balenced. and these plane are actualy a lot cheeper than you would think.
They have a couple of those bags/supports/etc. under the fuselage to bear the weight, and I’m guessing that they have them under the wings for stability in case of crosswinds, etc.
If you think carefully it’s exactly where you should lift it. The wings are the ones that keep the aircraft aloft during flight and, because of the g force during direction changes, they must support much more than the aircraft weight.
“And don’t say lift from the airspeed, because — even if that were true — it wouldn’t explain what holds the wing up while taxiing.”
The landing gear hold the wings up during taxiing. Lift holds them up during flight. When lifting the fuselage in the absence of airspeed, the wings must be lifted separately, as we see here.
maybe they were working on the landing gear or the mounting bracket? ever thing of that?
Asides from maintenance, they also use bags or jacks like that for simply testing the function of the landing gear. I don’t think this counts as a kludge.
You will when they push this bad boy down the runway and the pilot has to pop the clutch to get the engines to turn over.
Welcome to Redneck Airlines, y’all. This is yer cap’n, Bubba. If ya care to look out the left side of the airplane. No, the left side. No, the other left side. You’ll see we’re flying over Talladega Speedway.
Pit crew,changing tires.
Also adjusting the suspension and the air pressure. The plane was a little loose coming out of turn 4.
*not pictured: Pilot running down the runway in his tighty-whiteys screaming “I’m on fire!”
I’m not scared of flying…..I am a bit nervous about crashing, however.
I’m with you Blacknimbus. As my flight instructor always used to say, ” Take off is optional but landing is mandatory. “
- I’m afraid of grounds
– You mean heights?
– No, people afraids of heights have it wrong, it’s the ground that kills you.
(not exact quote, sorry)
This. This my fear. Flying doesn’t scare me; it’s all that space between me and the ground.
Don’t worry Ms Fix-It, 99.999% of the time spent falling is harmless, and the rest is statistically insignificant.
There are 3 things that are tottaly useless in flying…. the runway behind you…… the air above you….. and the fuel you left in the fuel truck
Many are afraid of heights. Me, I’m afraid of widths.
yeah me to especially when I’m dating
A “Good” landing is one you can walk away from. A “Great” landing is one where you can also use the airplane again.
Sometimes it is not a crash, the FAA has given us the wonderful phrase — Controlled Flight Into Terrain
I don’t get it. Those are inflatable lift bags being used to raise the plane. So what?
Maybe they need to put up more? Looks like the wheels are still on the ground.
still not scared!!!!!
That fifth exclamation mark indicates otherwise.
*nodding in agreement* I think it was the lack of coordination in trembling fingers did not allow for the use of the shift key in typing any capital letters, and then for stopping the hold on shift+1 for the exclamation marks. A phobia is indeed very evident here.
Well, I’m not the least bit scared of flying. i just hate being cooped up for hours. And I’m a little scared of crashing, but that’s when you STOP flying at the wrong time.
“Can you fly a plane?”
“Fly; yes, Land; no”
Coulton???
1.) Insert Simpsons “Monorail” episode joke here, after seeing Ms. Fix-It’s comment and think you’re hilarious for spouting joke that was used almost 17 years ago.
2.) Wait for Ms. Fix-It to post as “Favorite Comment,” be severely disappointed and probably surprised for some stupid reason.
3.) ????????
4.) PROFIT
Mono
Rail
Mono
Rail
Mono… doh!
A monorail, huh? If you need some material, I know of a source for as many cats as you could ever need.
This is your captain speaking. We’ll soon be underway for Kuala Lumpur once the repair technicians finish reattaching one of the wings. Everything is completely fine, though, and you have nothing to worry about. While you’re waiting, now might be an appropriate time to call your loved ones not travelling on the plane with you today and forgive all those who have wronged you in the past. Thank you for your patience, and thank you for flying Malaysia Airlines!
-”This is your captain speaking!”.
-”Can some people from the Japanese sumo wrestling team move over the the left side please ?!”
What did you expect from Air Malaysia?
Customer respect and better service than cattle class in United, for sure. Oh, and warmer water for longer survival after the crash.
Of course, there ARE the sharks to contend with.
Like they say for the bears, you just need to swim faster than the other passengers.
that’s zobmies, not bears.
*zombies
yeah I don’t get it. That’s nothing out of the norm. I have some of those myself for when I do maintenance on my own plane…
Better than a fork lift right? lol
It is nothing that a little duct tape won’t fix! ;O]
“What are those grease monkeys working on out there…and in plain sight, no less? They seem to be new or something. Do they even know what they’re doing?”
“I think they’re winging it.”
Waitress, I’ll have a light beer, hold the food. Gotta do my part to keep this rig airworthy after all.
How do we fix the issue here?
- We’ll just wing it.
Is there an echo in here?
Is there an echo in here?
you win.
Dangit! I knew we shouldn’t have parked in this neighborhood – I just bought those rims! Do you know how hard it is to find 72 inch chrome wheels?!
No comment, just a question: With Spirit charging me for carry-on bags and RyanAir charging me to use the loo, how much is Malaysia Air charging for this kludge?
Funny thing, that- Malaysia Air is the full-service airline, and they’re behind a bit in a lot of respects. AirAsia is Malaysia’s answer to RyanAir and Spirit, but their flight attendants are nicer(-looking, too) and their planes are better than Malaysia Air’s. Just food for thought.
The pile of pallets. Photobombing Kludges since 2009.
Ssssh! The plane’s resting. It’s got a long flight tomorrow.
Looks like they are doing landing gear maintenance. Its probably either do this or bring out some giant construction crane.
Apropos of nothing, a nerd joke: There was an intercontinental flight that began to experience extreme turbulence, to the extent that the plan was in actual danger. Thinking quickly, the pilot called the attendants to the cabin and held a hurried conference. Then he got on the speaker and said, “If there are any Polish persons on this plane, please identify yourselves to the crew.” The crew quickly moved through the bouncing cabin, and with difficulty mananged to re-seat every Polish person on the right hand side of the plane. When the last one was moved, the airplane suddenly leveled out and ceased jerking about.
The co-pilot was stunned, and asked the pilot what had just happened. To which he replied, “Everyone knows that if you get all the poles on the same side of a plane, it’s stable.”
A very pompous minister was seated next to an alcoholic on a flight to Dallas, TX. After the plane was airborne, drink orders were taken. The alcoholic asked for a beer, which was brought and placed before him. The flight attendant then asked the minister if he would also like a drink.
He replied in disgust, “I’d rather be savagely violated by a brazen woman of ill repute than let liquor touch these lips.” The alcoholic then handed his beer back to the flight attendant and said, “I didn’t know there was a choice.”
The plane got in trouble for some antics it pulled during its last flight. The plane also managed to injure itself in the process. So now it’s grounded until it agrees to fly the skies a little more friendlily.
I’m confused. Is your friend lily a pilot or something?
Although it doesn’t easily roll off the tongue, friendlily means “in a friendly manner”.
Oh, Dogmeat, you’re so good with those tricky suffixes! I thought maybe it meant “in a friend lily manner,” and then I wondered if she had her own style of flying, or maybe was into aerobatics. That’s usually a no-no in such a big plane, but I’ve learned to expect the unexpected when flying.
Great…now I’m really wanting to buy a copy of Flight Simulator just to see if I can perform a barrel roll in one of these behemoths or pull enough Gs to make the pilot black out!
the Eurocopter ‘Tiger’ attack helicopter can do loops. you’d think it would loose controll
The hardest thing about shipping a passenger jet is shrink-wrapping it once you get it on the pallet(s).
Do they make those turntables in a jumbo size?
I thought it was that the Fedex guy never wants to help and bring it upstairs.
Wow, the USPS doesn’t make a box that big for Priority Mail?
So…how about that airline food huh?
Is it me, or did the pilot or ground crew completely miss the parking lane?
If they were able to stay on the lines, no repair would be necessary.
I once (about 20 years ago) had an Air Jamaica flight canceled, because the food delivery truck ran into one of the engines and basically knocked it off of the plane.
This looks like a very safe plane to me.
Kind of like this?
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/attachment.php?s=9d4143efaf16224beb95b53bf78c9ee8&attachmentid=8267&stc=1&d=1056082672
Or this?
http://www.aviationpics.de/fod/fod.html
Airline food is disappointing in soooo many ways…
Oh, I see, pictures of things being used correctly. Have to see what I can spot.
when ya going to post my pic using a .357 caliber handgun case to replace a cooler hinge pin? i sent it to ya twice.
calm down, these things get voted, sending it repeatedly just makes them angry.
I know the airlines are having financial problems, but they can’t afford a jack or two?
Actually, a jack probably doesn’t provide the same sort of even pressure that these pallet/bag devices do. I suspect they’re used to avoid warping the skin or frame of the plane by spreading out the weight distribution.
Finally, an intelligent comment.
It’s funny, flying really isn’t all that dangerous (yes, landings can be scary, but it’s not easy doing them, and the planes ARE made for that, after all), but I love it when I read or hear about people being scared to death of it.
I fail to see the kludge. They are air craft jacks used to lift the plane for minor maintenance. Have I missed a kludge in this?
Um, guys? Guys? I paid your damn checked luggage fee. Anytime you want to PUT MY STUFF on the plane??? Hello?
You know I can see this from the waiting area? Is that the one I paid extra for the FRAGILE USE EXTREME CAUTION stickers on top? Why is my dog, Fluffy, on the bottome?
HELLO????
Having 10 years in aircraft maintenance, I’ll tell you that bagging an aircraft like this is a procedure used normally when jacks are impractical, but I get the feeling that in this case they simply weren’t available.
A ten-second search indicates the normal jacking points for lifting the entire aircraft are under the trailing edge of the wings near the roots and at the tail, with another at the nose for balance.
Google “20091002-0 9M-MMR” for what ppears to be in incident in question, although it offers no explanation for bags rather than jacks.
jacks over bags
“The Boeing 737-400 sustained substantial damage as the left hand main gear gave way at the gate at Kuching Airport (KCH), Malaysia. The wing was punctured by the undercarriage leg and the nr.1 engine contacted the platform.”
Ummm… The right gear gave way and the engine came in contact with the tarmac!
Jimbo, where would suggest placing the jacks? Possibly where the airframe failed?
I get the feeling that they were following FAR rules
If the right main folded, they had to use the bags because you can’t fit the jack under the wing once it drops like that. Just imagine trying to slip a jack under your car after the wheels have been removed. Same thing.
I’ve seen this sort of operation before, and it’s always because of a gear collapse, or a gear-up landing.
Derelict got the reason for using the bags. As for failures, it was the landing gear, not any part of the airframe itself which failed. So using bags (which can start from a low enough height to get under a collapsed landing gear leg) rather than jacks (which start out fairly tall to begin with) makes sense. I’d be curious to know what part of the gear failed (i.e. the oleo or the downlock mechanism) and what they did after they got the aircraft this far up.
Flying doesn’t scare me.
Airport security, that scares me.
so many things about air travel frighten me, flying is not one of them
I once got to spend the night at Goose Bay, Labrador: the plane I was on had made an unscheduled landing, because one of the engines was wobbling: apparently several bolts holding it on the plane had dropped off…. oopsie!
THAT is why we don’t fly Malaysian Airlines.
because they folloow standard maintenence procedure?
This is the only way Malaysia Airlines could afford to give their pilots a raise.
im guessing they had some glitches with the landing gear. But its ridiculous to be scared of flying… more people die in car accidents each year than plane accidents, heck, there are trained professionals flying these things and teenagers driving cars, i’d prefer to fly any day.
I am of the opinion that strong wings are important.
Please mind the gap.
…..after securing the wing and fuselage, place two cones in front of the engine and two in front of the nose. place another cone at random……step 4: inspect engine and add as much duct tape as needed……..step 5 remove other engine and disgaurd it, one engine will be sufficient…………….
Ive used those bags once. When a landingear failed. it’s pretty hard to move the aircraft without the landingears extended ^^. This is just a guess tho, but i have never heard or seen a airline use those liftingbags to perform maintenance on a AC.
We use jacks for that
It’s not really so much the “flying” that scares me insomuch as it is the “Falling” that really does it.
DAMN YOU MALAYSIA-HATERS
THAT IS FAKE I TELL YOU
WAIT TILL OUR PROPAGANDA MINISTRY GETS YOU