How Brand New Aircraft are Cruelly Tested During Vertical Takeoff Before Being Sold

Welcome back to the FLUCTUS channel for a discussion about how today’s most advanced aircraft are tested to ensure maximum performance.

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[billvs]

Back in the 80s, I was taking off from the Denver airport (Stapleton at the time) in a Continental Airlines DC 9 when the starboard engine ingested parts of a tire that blew after their abort point. After a loud pop, the man sitting next to me, who happened to be a pilot on a different airline, explained to me that we probably blew a rear tire, and bits of it were ingested into the engine (on that plane, the engines were located not on the wing but on the fuselage behind the rear landing gear), causing it to shut down.

He calmly explained to me that the plane was totally capable of flying with only one engine, and that we would circle back and land at the same airport. No problem. I wasn't so calm, nor were the other passengers that also heard the loud pop. The take off, now with only one engine, seemed perfectly normal to me. When it was time to land, the pilot expertly put the plane down first on the side with the good tires, then the nose wheel touched down, then the damaged wheels were ever so gently put down. Fire trucks followed us as we landed; when the plane went to turn off the runway, the other tire on the damaged side popped and went flat. That stopped the plane in its tracks. A bus came to offload the passengers, and as we deplaned the pilot greeted us all. I asked if he would be the pilot on our replacement aircraft; he said he would be. I told him I was glad that he would be flying the next aircraft and praised him and his crew for their expert handling of the situation. We would all be late getting to our destinations, but we'd still be alive.

Long story short - modern jet aircraft can certainly take off and fly with only one engine!

[jcs]

You have to commend these test/pilots for their skill, but most of all their 'extreme' courage knowing that if a test maneuver goes wrong, they just can't eject themselves from that flight cabin as if they were in a fighter jet. Total respect!.

[Merdock-ypxj]

Thank you to all pilots, engineers and everyone involved doing their jobs, such a huge and important responsibility

[RudysGarage]

Seeing a commercial airliner doing a near-vertical takeoff has to be one of the most badass things ever😮

[COOLOCKER]

I remember when they tested a 747 at Dublin airport years ago with vertical climbs, dives, and all round crazy maneuvers. It was some time after the El Al Flight 1862 disaster in Holland. They where testing out new pins (the cause of the crash in Holland) on the engines and pushing that 747 to its limits. A friend worked in the airport at the time and had heard it was going to happen, and what time. He let us know, and we all got as close as we could to the airport when the time came. Jaw dropping stuff, and i was blown away that a 747 could actually fly the way it did.

[peterwachira]

As a plane I can confirm we are afraid of these tests

[TimCutts]

Note - Airbus is not a French company. It's multinational, with many countries taking part as well as France. Germany, the UK and Spain are the other three major members.

[NYVETTFW]

Gotta correct you on something. The tires on aircraft undergoing rejected takeoff testing are not deflated by ground crews, they automatically deflate by way of 'blowout plugs' on the wheels that are designed to release the pressure in an overheated tire to prevent the TIRE from blowing out. Just wanted to clarify that.

[r.b.]

A like for all these test pilots and hats off to them.

[frantzl]

I experienced such an "emergency" once, right before landing at Gatwick airport in London. We were 2 minutes away from touchdown when the airplane got a message about another airplane taking off from the same airstrip, and without any warning, the airplane went into full acceleration and pulled straight up (even though it might have been way less dramatic than what they're displaying in this clip). Anyways, we didn't get an explanation from the captain until we leveled off, circled around and again prepared for landing.

[Omlet]

I think it’s impressive how maneuverable such a large bird is

[jamesoncurry]

Highly regarded for its "commitment to testing", What happened with the Max then? Uh huh... they got lazy and cut corners.

[matthiku]

4:27 Airbus is certainly not a "French" company! It is an European multinational company with production in Germany, France, UK and Spain!

[chrismcmillen]

its crazy how the plane can even take off when the pilots have such massive balls to perform these types of turns and take offs

[biggokii]

**Pilot flies vertically**
**Wing snaps off**
Pilot: "can confirm, plane is not usable"

[ScriostaOfficial]

A couple of points here about the 747-8 RTO tests. It was loaded to max take off weight, equipped with fully worn down brakes, and could only use the brakes and spoilers to stop, no reverse thrust or other control inputs. Also once the plane comes to a complete stop a 5 minute timer is started and only after that 5 mins has expired are firefighters allowed to cool the brakes with hoses. The tires automatically deflate to prevent them from exploding and killing passengers/first responders and also to protect the plane itself.

[abdul-qffe]

Can't imagine a world without planes, amazing tech experience, respect 👏 🙏

[KyleJewell]

Gotta give the test pilots such huge props for doing what they gotta do.

[OfficialSamuelC]

Also bare in mind these vertical climbs in commercial aircraft are with no pax, baggage and often minimum fuel, so they’re far lighter. Much more difficult to achieve when weighed down but that doesn’t mean they aren’t stable or safe, they absolutely are. It’s just far more difficult to vertically climb aircraft when it’s bogged down with everything.

Military aircraft are a completely different breed though. They can do a lot more when weighed down.

[syedmehmoodulhassan]

I really appreciate how much work is done to put together such magnificent planes 😍