23 year old plane!

[Disney fan]

It would appear that the Virgin 747 plane we are flying on from UK to Orlando is 23 years old!

What is the normal life of a 747, should it be retired by now???
It would seem that the plane is often delayed due to tech problems!


Lynda

[Passenger Mark]

Hi Lynda,

I know over hear that UPS flys some fairly old 747s (25-30) years old.

I am also going to copy this over to Ray's board, as he may have some in-site!

Thanks,

Mark

[spleisher]

Lynda,

Just try to remember that when you're talking about the age of a plane, you really can't compare it to the age of a car or some other mechanical item you may be m ore familiar with. You don't find many 25 year old VCR's that are still in working order, but it is not uncommon for an aircraft.

Remember, airplanes are subject to rigorous maintenance schedules and ALL aircraft have annual inspections that are VERY rigorous. I don't know how long an annual takes in a 737, but it can take a long time to perform even for a small plane.

The other thing you have to understand is the distinction between an airplanes overall age, and the TIME that is on the engines of the airplane. Besides the wear and tear that pressurization cycles places on a plane, the airframe can last a long, long, long time. This is not so true with engines. That's why engines are competely overhauled or replaced periodically. I can guarantee you that 24 year old plane does not have the original engines on it, and if it does they have been completey overhauled more than once.

Overhauling a jet engine is a very detailed and expensive proposition. Look at it this way, you would not think of a car as being old if it were COMPLETELY RESTORED. That's basically what happens to the engines of jet aircraft. Different engines time out at different hours. Remember too, when you're talking about the age of an airplane engine, you talk in terms of hours and maintenance and time since overhauls. You really don't talk in terms of years.

You really notice this when buying aircraft. The "time" that is left on an engine makes a HUGE DIFFERENCE in the purchase cost of an aircraft. Thi smakes sense if you think about it, since jet engines cost tens of thousands of dollars to overhaul.

I hope this helps to give you some idea of what is considered when we talk about the "age" of an airplane.

[lieberma]

I don't know how long an annual takes in a 737, but it can take a long time to perform even for a small plane.

Adding to what spleisher says above.

My plane is 28 years old. :hamster

The engine was just overhauled last year for the first time in all these years. The overhaul entails taking the entire engine out of the plane, shipping it to a shop who tears down every part of the engine down to the engine block. All parts must meet very strict tolerances before it can be put back into an engine. A newly overhauled engine is "almost" as good as a brand new engine.

Generally, it is 2000 hours of running time on an engine before TBO (to be overhauled). Airplane engines do not run on a "clock hour". It runs on a workload hour. For example, an engine that is running at idle for one hour will only show something like 3/4 of an hour as it is not working as hard as if it was running full power. Not sure what the rational is except I think that it takes into account that the lower the speed, the lesser the wear and tear.

For the airplane inspection, this is called an annual. :security

Not sure about commercial airlines, but for my little ole airplane it is a very big ordeal. I helped out the first year with the mechanic, and I never knew how many screws were in that plane until he had me start unscrewing every panel that allowed access to the innards. After unscrewing over a kazillion screws, I half way filled up a small paint size bucket! Fortunately, I don't think the mechanic ended up with extra screws after he put things back together.

The annual on my plane took 25 man hours, and lots of tests on the parts that move and jiggle, engine oil, and anything that is attached to the airplane. My airplane was apart for 2 weeks.

I only wished my car mechanic was as thorough as the airplane mechanic!!!

Airplanes also have to get their instruments checked. One instrument is called a transponder that allows air traffic controllers track your airplane. This is tested every two years.

The altitude indicator and airspeed indicator systems are checked every two years.

The Emergency Locater Transmitter is checked at every annual.

So, you can see, for the most part, if a person who owns a private airplane is on the up and up, and does not cut corners (aviation is expensive), the plane you get on will be safer then any car you drive.

Commercial carriers I am sure have to go through a lot of rigamora, so you can be pretty assured, unless they know a crooked inspector, that they will be on the up and up about their maintenance.

From what I understand, maybe someone knows for sure, but I was told that any part that is put into an airplane has to be warranteed as if it is a new product, thus the reason for the extra expense.

Heck, a silly wing light bulb costed me 20 dollars!!! :violin

A christmas lightbulb probably would do the same output!:hamster

Allen

[spleisher]

Well put... I did not think to include the concept of "tach time" in my post.

The important thing to take away from this is that you really can't look at an airplane's age the way you would look at the age of other mechanical items so long as they are well-kept.

To many a fearful flyer, Allen's plane would be viewed as "old and scary." To a pilot, it looks more like a nice plane you can buy without literally being Donald Trump.

I'll give you an example. A new Piper Warrior would probably cost you $175,000 to $200,000 depending on what you put into it. But you can buy one from the late 70's or early 80's for about a quarter of that. Still an expensive hobby, but which one looks more like something the less-than-filthy-rich might be able to do?

Take care,
Scott