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Doh, Eurofighter crashed in Spain...all remaining grounded.

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It was actually an unforseen circumstance (call it a software error or pilot error). They didn't program the plane to make a crash landing with the gear still up. The test pilot forgot to lower the landing gear. The plane kept trying to pull up and the test pilot kept trying to force it to land. So it ocillated up and down above the runway until the pilot finally successfully crashed it. 😀
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No, I'm an aeronautical engineer and we studied this when it happened. What really happened is that there was a bug in the flight control software. The landing gear didn't come down, but the plane entered into landing mode which compensates for the drag of the landing gear. Without the drag there, the plane couldn't figure out what was wrong and overcompensated (plus it was still an early version of the flight control software without all the refinements) and it entered into oscillations. Test pilots don't "forget" landing gear and there are enough people monitoring the flight they would have informed him that his gear was up.
 
Originally posted by: FenrisUlf
It was actually an unforseen circumstance (call it a software error or pilot error). They didn't program the plane to make a crash landing with the gear still up. The test pilot forgot to lower the landing gear. The plane kept trying to pull up and the test pilot kept trying to force it to land. So it ocillated up and down above the runway until the pilot finally successfully crashed it. 😀
Click to expand...

No, I'm an aeronautical engineer and we studied this when it happened. What really happened is that there was a bug in the flight control software. The landing gear didn't come down, but the plane entered into landing mode which compensates for the drag of the landing gear. Without the drag there, the plane couldn't figure out what was wrong and overcompensated (plus it was still an early version of the flight control software without all the refinements) and it entered into oscillations. Test pilots don't "forget" landing gear and there are enough people monitoring the flight they would have informed him that his gear was up.
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Umm, in the video posted above, you can clearly see that the landing gear was down (as were the flaps) as the pilot was coming down for the landing. Then he pulls up and the gear retracts.
 
Originally posted by: NFS4
Originally posted by: FenrisUlf
It was actually an unforseen circumstance (call it a software error or pilot error). They didn't program the plane to make a crash landing with the gear still up. The test pilot forgot to lower the landing gear. The plane kept trying to pull up and the test pilot kept trying to force it to land. So it ocillated up and down above the runway until the pilot finally successfully crashed it. 😀
Click to expand...

No, I'm an aeronautical engineer and we studied this when it happened. What really happened is that there was a bug in the flight control software. The landing gear didn't come down, but the plane entered into landing mode which compensates for the drag of the landing gear. Without the drag there, the plane couldn't figure out what was wrong and overcompensated (plus it was still an early version of the flight control software without all the refinements) and it entered into oscillations. Test pilots don't "forget" landing gear and there are enough people monitoring the flight they would have informed him that his gear was up.
Click to expand...

Umm, in the video posted above, you can clearly see that the landing gear was down (as were the flaps) as the pilot was coming down for the landing. Then he pulls up and the gear retracts.
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Right, which he was supposed to do, since they were doing the go-around tests.
 
Originally posted by: Nemesis77
Originally posted by: SSP
Originally posted by: Nemesis77
Originally posted by: SSP
A Eurofighter aircraft - one of the most world's most advanced planes
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Ahh! that was sooo annoying.
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What is annoying? It is one of the most advanced planes in the world.
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I was referring to the grammatical error.
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Damn, I never saw that myself :Q! But now that you mention it....
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Seriously??? I had to check 3 times to make sure I didn't screw up. Hehe
 
Originally posted by: crab453
Originally posted by: NFS4
Originally posted by: FenrisUlf

No, I'm an aeronautical engineer and we studied this when it happened. What really happened is that there was a bug in the flight control software. The landing gear didn't come down, but the plane entered into landing mode which compensates for the drag of the landing gear. Without the drag there, the plane couldn't figure out what was wrong and overcompensated (plus it was still an early version of the flight control software without all the refinements) and it entered into oscillations. Test pilots don't "forget" landing gear and there are enough people monitoring the flight they would have informed him that his gear was up.
Click to expand...

Umm, in the video posted above, you can clearly see that the landing gear was down (as were the flaps) as the pilot was coming down for the landing. Then he pulls up and the gear retracts.
Click to expand...

Right, which he was supposed to do, since they were doing the go-around tests.
Click to expand...


It was a conflict between flight control modes - the landing and flying mode. The gear came down, went up, and the plane went into landing mode without the gear coming down. As a result, the plane was in an improper configuration for the flight software, resulting in an oscillation which caused the plane to crash. I'm not saying that the gear NEVER came down, just that the flight configuration didn't match the flight control software.
 
Originally posted by: Nemesis77
Originally posted by: GoodToGo
Maybe someone pulled a prank on the french pilots. The transmission must be gone something like that:

transmitter: We have abducted a croissant from your country.
Pilots(raising hands in the air): WE SURRENDER.

Rest is history.
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Anyone who thinks cowardice is a national characteristic of the french should go and count the graves at Verdun.
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HA! The French soldiers were about ready to run away en masse before the German onslaught until Petain came along with his historic dictate, "They shall not pass." The French haven't fought well since the Crimean War, which was concluded in 1854.
 
Originally posted by: AndrewR
So, were the British engines using English measurements while the computers were using metric?

Oh, shoot, that was NASA, sorry! 😀
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what in the WORLD does that have to do with the sh!tty cheap built POS eurofighter?

we aint proud of those red necks @ nasa.
 
Originally posted by: Dari
if what dpm is saying is true, then what does the US have that's comparable to the Eurofighter? What can play multiple roles?
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the super hornet is pretty darn close. the navy doesn't even really need the JSF, the super hornet does ground pounding as well as pretty much anything else that was ever built (it doesn't rape tanks like the a-10 does but the army would rather its helicopters do that anyway). the only thing the super hornet doesn't have is the stovl or vtol capabilities. not particularly stealthy though i don't think the eurofighter is either.
 
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