Lion Air crash: Jakarta Boeing 737 'had prior instrument error'

[james_s]

The first plane I ever flew on was a DC-3.  I was 5 and it was very exciting, flying alone - taken care of by a stewardess in full, impeccably pressed uniform, with impossibly shiny brass buttons and badges!  I remember being awestruck at the thunder of the engines as they started and revved up, massive amounts of blue and black smoke (I guess fuel and piston oil control rings were "good enough for Australia" back then, and mufflers etc. was not something real men or women had any use for whatsoever)...   I remember the feeling of the small miracle as the plane accelerated down the runway with incredible noise, watching the ground disappearing under the plane...  I still feel that way at every take-off and always sit by the window for that reason alone, even if modern planes are a quite anodyne experience compared to a DC-3! 

When radial engines sit, oil tends to pool in the lower cylinders and slowly seeps past the rings. When starting the engine after it has rested you have to be careful to turn it over several rotations before turning on the magnetos so that you don't hydrolock a cylinder. The oil that has seeped past the rings ends up in the exhaust manifold so it's common to get a lot of smoke from a cold start. Jets are cool and all, but nothing comes close to those big old radial piston engines for me. The sound bristles the hair on the back of my neck, it's like a mob of Harley Davidson motorcycles. I've never had the fortune of a ride on one but I did get to sit in the pilot's seat of a DC-3 on the ground at an air show a few years ago and saw it flying later.

[SilverSolder]

The first plane I ever flew on was a DC-3.  I was 5 and it was very exciting, flying alone - taken care of by a stewardess in full, impeccably pressed uniform, with impossibly shiny brass buttons and badges!  I remember being awestruck at the thunder of the engines as they started and revved up, massive amounts of blue and black smoke (I guess fuel and piston oil control rings were "good enough for Australia" back then, and mufflers etc. was not something real men or women had any use for whatsoever)...   I remember the feeling of the small miracle as the plane accelerated down the runway with incredible noise, watching the ground disappearing under the plane...  I still feel that way at every take-off and always sit by the window for that reason alone, even if modern planes are a quite anodyne experience compared to a DC-3! 

When radial engines sit, oil tends to pool in the lower cylinders and slowly seeps past the rings. When starting the engine after it has rested you have to be careful to turn it over several rotations before turning on the magnetos so that you don't hydrolock a cylinder. The oil that has seeped past the rings ends up in the exhaust manifold so it's common to get a lot of smoke from a cold start. Jets are cool and all, but nothing comes close to those big old radial piston engines for me. The sound bristles the hair on the back of my neck, it's like a mob of Harley Davidson motorcycles. I've never had the fortune of a ride on one but I did get to sit in the pilot's seat of a DC-3 on the ground at an air show a few years ago and saw it flying later.

The "mob of Harley Davidsons" is about right.  I was sitting behind the engine, on the left side of the plane.  The exhaust was a HUGE letterbox shaped duct and the noise was incredible - would never be permitted today - normal conversation was not possible at any time during the journey!  It was clear to me even as a child that we were dealing with serious horsepower when the engines were started - but even that did not prepare me for the incredible sheer energy of those engines during the take-off!  I could see the smoke being blown by the propeller, I remember thinking the propellers were "rowing" in the air at incredible speed...  a kind of high speed rowboat!

I sat with a silly grin the whole journey...  the whole thing is seared in my mind, I recall vents opening on the engine cowl and closing again as the plane started take-off, presumably to allow more cooling when the plane is stationary.  If I had been a bit older, I would probably have paid a little more attention to the pretty stewardess!

There have only been a few incidents since then where engines have made my hair bristle:  one was a steam locomotive starting from a stand-still at the platform, pulling a very long train...  the sheer brute force made the whole platform shake, you could literally see the locomotive straining at its leash as it leaned into its suspension with BRUTAL strength!   Total awesomeness...  I definitely 'get' steam train nuts...

[james_s]

I sat with a silly grin the whole journey...  the whole thing is seared in my mind, I recall vents opening on the engine cowl and closing again as the plane started take-off, presumably to allow more cooling when the plane is stationary.  If I had been a bit older, I would probably have paid a little more attention to the pretty stewardess!

There have only been a few incidents since then where engines have made my hair bristle:  one was a steam locomotive starting from a stand-still at the platform, pulling a very long train...  the sheer brute force made the whole platform shake, you could literally see the locomotive straining at its leash as it leaned into its suspension with BRUTAL strength!   Total awesomeness...  I definitely 'get' steam train nuts...

The vents are called cowl flaps and as you guessed are there to regulate cooling airflow to maintain proper operating temperature of the engines. They're controlled manually by the pilot or in the case of larger planes the flight engineer.

Pretty girls can be found almost anywhere, there are more interesting things to see on an airplane, especially back in the era where it was really something special.

Yeah steam locomotives and trains in general are pretty cool. I'm not what would be called a railfan but it's definitely something I'll stop and admire if I see one passing by. Railroad engineer is one of several careers that I think would be fun in another life. It's too bad it isn't the sort of thing you can really do for a few years and then go back to something else.