I have an old post from SFO on a similar theme to this one, but I make the rules on this blog and this post isn’t violating any of them. (If you want to know what the rules are, let me know and I shall try and come up with some.) When I jet descends from altitude, the fuel the remains in the wing tanks will be very cold. The warmer and moister air lower down can result in the formation of ice on the underside of the wings where the remaining fuel is pooled. This Delta A330 shows that, as expected, there is fuel at the inboard end of the wings but also, less expected by me at least, there is a tank further outboard that still has fuel in it. I like the fact that fuel is kept further out since it alleviates bending loads. You can see the shape of the access panels where the ice is forming.
Tag Archives: wings
Dreamliner Wings Moving to the Factory
I have shown a bunch of images of the Dreamlifter bringing in components to Paine Field for the production line including shots of the unloading of parts. During a more recent visit, I happened to be there when they were moving a pair of wings from the storage facility to the production facility across the airfield. They had escort vehicles to lead and follow up as they crossed the runway. The wings look a lot less impressive in the travel jigs. The completed 787 looks substantial but the wings alone don’t provide the same impact.
USS San Francisco Memorial
Walk around the headland from Sutro Baths and you come to a great view looking across towards the Golden Gate Bridge. Here is located the memorial to the USS San Francisco. The ship was engaged in a vicious battle during the Second World War at Guadalcanal in which her senior officers were killed. The ship survived albeit heavily damaged. When she was scrapped after the war, the wings from the bridge were kept and placed as part of the memorial. They still bear the scars of the rounds that hit the ship during the engagement with the steel holed and twisted in many places.