Boeing 737 variants

[rickshaw]

China can thumb their nose at the legality of what they have done, Kit.  However, it means they place themselves increasingly at odds with the manufacturers and governments who don't want that to happen.  It may be that they'll simply say, "no!" when the Chinese ask for another plane the next time they come buying.   

[scooter]

The issue is not as easy as putting a Ford engine in Corvette, Kit, because aircraft have to meet airworthiness directives.  In this instance, the FAA has issued the type and certificate of the B737, and approved Boeing mods (eg Wedgetail).  Because the PLAAF went ahead and did their own thing, without the FAA signing off on the mods, should they prove to be the cause of the an incident in which something occurs, the FAA can deny them entry into US airspace.  What happens to an airplane also affects those on the ground, should it happen over populated areas.

[PR19_Kit]

I'm not arguing that point, what I'm saying is that it's pointless even raising the issue of China not 'asking permission' as the original posting mentioned.

Tom Clancy had it right when he referred to the Chinese as 'Klingons' in one of his novels. They just don't think like we do, although I expect that may change over time, so trying to work with Western ideas of fairness, correctness etc. in a Chinese context is a total waste of time.

I could go on at length (as usual......  ) about working with them on a project we did in the mid 80s concerning their purchase of the Spey engine production technology, but I hope you all get my point by now.

[PR19_Kit]

Your post and mine crossed Scooter.....

The Chinese don't give a damn about FAA directives, they're AMERICAN directives and those aircraft will only operate over China.

[famvburg]

Also in the USA, the FAA has no jurisdiction over military aircraft, so a military-owned 737 for example, can be modified regardless. Even on the civilian side where the FAA does have jurisdiction, an aircraft certified as experimental can be modified to pretty much any extent without the FAA's blessing. But when any aircraft is outside the USA, it isn't under the FAA's jurisdiction, but yes, they can deny its entry back into the USA, again, depending upon the circumstances.

[ChernayaAkula]

<...>
Tom Clancy had it right when he referred to the Chinese as 'Klingons' in one of his novels. They just don't think like we do, although I expect that may change over time, so trying to work with Western ideas of fairness, correctness etc. in a Chinese context is a total waste of time.
<...>

Hmmm, when I was in China in 2001, they all seemed quite human to me. No signs of ridged foreheads, jagged teeth or anything.
Tom Clancy wrote a few entertaining, suspenseful techno-thrillers (although "The Bear and the Dragon" was a total snoozefest), but when it comes to politics and other cultures, his work is chock-full of crude jingoism and, at times, thinly-veiled racism.
The Chinese learned everything they needed to know about Western ideas of fairness and correctness when the Europeans showed up and declared: "Nice country you have there. We quite fancy it! Know what, we'll even give you work. Oh, did we mention we do have nice big ships with nice big guns and quite well-trained soldiers? Sign the dotted line here, please!" Thinking about it, that's more or less the way everybody outside of Europe learned about Western ideas of fairness and correctness.
Do they really think differently from us? Depends on how you phrase the questions that drive them. They think "China first". Yes, that's quite different from our thinking. We wouldn't think "China first", right? Of course not, that would be a stupid thing to do for us, wouldn't it? When you rephrase the question, they simply think "what's in it for us?" Which, incidentally, is precisely, to a T, the one and only way we think! The West is now just slightly miffed that they're being beaten at their own game.

[PR19_Kit]

I've said my piece already, no more need be said on that side..................

[martinbayer]

The issue is not as easy as putting a Ford engine in Corvette, Kit, because aircraft have to meet airworthiness directives.

Cars really aren't all that different in that respect - in the US for example, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a legislative mandate to issue Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and Regulations to which manufacturers of motor vehicle and equipment items must conform and certify compliance, see http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/FMVSS/

Martin

[Spey_Phantom]

BUMP  


here's another (previously classified) version of the Boeing 737, the NT-43A flying radar testbed.
converted from an old earlier generation 737-200, its used to test the radar and systems of 5th generation aircraft and test the stealth capabilities of those aircraft.

info: http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=6366.0

and: http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/the-worlds-most-secretive-737-is-really-the-usafs-most-1686479619/1686794643/+pgeorge

[KJ_Lesnick]

The size is not the issue: It's the weight of the plane, and the weight of fuel carried

[zenrat]

It looks like one of Eric's bottle planes.

[NARSES2]

It looks like one of Eric's bottle planes.

Yup

[pyro-manic]

A cool, if terribly ugly aircraft that I wasn't aware of. Nice one, Nils. Shades of Nimrod AEW3 and some of the Canberra test ships I think.

[scooter]

Looks like it's dragging along a loaded diaper.

DAD!  My diaper's full!

[McColm]

That's what I tried to do with a 1/72 P-3 Orion with the resin Nimrod AEW conversion kit. Tail part fits, cut out and replaced vertical tail fin. Didn't get around fitting the front radome- future build.