All this talk about how mcas was not designed properly or how it could be prevented from failing is eroneous.
Good safe airplane design is about a neutral flying design without the need for complex systems.
This plane is fundamentally flawed because the engines are in the wrong position because the landing gear is two short to fit them in the correct position.
The test pilot was clear about very poor flying characteristics at slow flyong speeds requiring mcas to be more aggressive.
This plane should not be flying with this engine configuration as it fails the most fundamental principal of good aeroplane design of neutral handling.
FTA: The Max wasn’t handling well when nearing stalls at low speeds.
In a meeting at Boeing Field in Seattle, Mr. Wilson told engineers that the issue would need to be fixed. He and his co-pilot proposed MCAS, the person said.
It is not clear this translates into a fundamentally flawed design. It's a serious assertion, even though at the same time it's vague. Why did it need to be fixed? To avoid pilot training? Or to pass a FAR 25 airworthiness certification requirement? We can't tell from this reporting. Months after these accidents, people are still asking this question. The difference matters.
I'm very skeptical that software can legally be used to paper over aerodynamic flaws, as I read FAR 25. In fact, neutral design is not adequate, it must exhibit positive static and dynamic stability in all three axes. Fly by wire software doesn't make a plane with negative stability behave as if it has positive stability, the software provides various safeguards in a layered manner.
Good safe airplane design is about a neutral flying design without the need for complex systems.
This plane is fundamentally flawed because the engines are in the wrong position because the landing gear is two short to fit them in the correct position.
The test pilot was clear about very poor flying characteristics at slow flyong speeds requiring mcas to be more aggressive.
This plane should not be flying with this engine configuration as it fails the most fundamental principal of good aeroplane design of neutral handling.