Depleted uranium used in manufacture of 747-200

[Trevatanus]

Apparently it was used as ballast.
How on earth could Boeing have come to the conclusion that this was a good idea?
http://enformable.com/2012/01/depleted-uranium-and...

[civicduty]

And something similar in the elevator counter balances on the Lockheed L1011-500 or Tristar. Not just Boeing that thought it was a good idea.

[civicduty]

As per the article now that I have read it. All I can remember about the stuff is that it would be a good idea not to drill into it.

[Eric Mc]

I remember it became a bit of a scare story when that El Al 747 freighter crashed into a block of flats in Holland.

[anonymous-user]

Depleted Uranium is >1.67 denser than Pb. In this way it is more mass efficient for its intended purpose in the aircraft than Pb, and probably cheaper than gold which is slightly denser (besides being less prone to theft). Might even be cheaper and more readily available than Tungsten at the time.

You've gotta get a lot of weight in to a small space with these counter balances. You need a lot of weight because the moment arm is so short, and the space is small probably because the need for counterbalance weights was realised late in design/flight trials and the design couldn't be changed.

[davepoth]

Trevatanus said:

Apparently it was used as ballast.
How on earth could Boeing have come to the conclusion that this was a good idea?
http://enformable.com/2012/01/depleted-uranium-and...

Probably the same people that gave you radium paint, or asbestos, or smoking. Health and safety usually comes after somebody dies.

[eccles]

Some C-130's also use it in their elevator balance weights. It's really not that unusual, and in day to day use quite safe.

[anonymous-user]

eccles said:

Some C-130's also use it in their elevator balance weights. It's really not that unusual, and in day to day use quite safe.

Aircraft are actually full of things that might catch fire or explode. Depleted uranium isn't even on my list of things to be concerned about on an aircraft.

[Fluffsri]

eccles said:

Some C-130's also use it in their elevator balance weights. It's really not that unusual, and in day to day use quite safe.

I remember being told on my Herc Q course, dont drill the DP and dont breath in the Beryllium dust. That course was in 92 and thats about all I do remember from it lol.

[hidetheelephants]

Fluffsri said:

eccles said:

Some C-130's also use it in their elevator balance weights. It's really not that unusual, and in day to day use quite safe.

I remember being told on my Herc Q course, dont drill the DP and dont breath in the Beryllium dust. That course was in 92 and thats about all I do remember from it lol.

I'd rate fking your lungs with beryllium as far more concerning than anything to do with DU.

[z06tim]

Fluffsri said:

I remember being told on my Herc Q course, dont drill the DP and dont breath in the Beryllium dust. That course was in 92 and thats about all I do remember from it lol.

That's interesting. Where is the Beryllium used on the Herc? Is it an alloying component of the DU counterbalance weights?

Beryllium has always interested me, as it has a very favourable mass to stiffness/strength ratio. It was used in the space shuttle windshield frame - only problem being the dust is so dangerous that it has to be machined under water.

[Eric Mc]

Is depleted uranium still used on modern airliners such as the 787 or the A380?

[RCBRG]

Eric Mc said:

Is depleted uranium still used on modern airliners such as the 787 or the A380?

if it is, they've kept it scarily quiet

[Eric Mc]

RCBRG said:

Eric Mc said:

Is depleted uranium still used on modern airliners such as the 787 or the A380?

if it is, they've kept it scarily quiet

It was always kept a bit quiet. As I mentioned above, most people outside of aviation only learned about it following the crash of the El Al 747 in Holland in 1992

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Al_Flight_1862

[Top Banana]

It was also a concern in the Korean air cargo 747 crash just outside of Stansted in 1999.

That 747 basically nose dived into the ground due to instrument malfunction and exploded on impact so most of the DU probably either got burnt/oxidised or maybe due to the momentum of the crash was impacted into the soil?

[Trevatanus]

Top Banana said:

It was also a concern in the Korean air cargo 747 crash just outside of Stansted in 1999.

That 747 basically nose dived into the ground due to instrument malfunction and exploded on impact so most of the DU probably either got burnt/oxidised or maybe due to the momentum of the crash was impacted into the soil?

That's correct. I watched a Channel 5 Documentary about this, hence me going off and looking.

[Flooble]

What is it that worries you? Radiation or chemical toxicity?

[Eric Mc]

Trevatanus said:

That's correct. I watched a Channel 5 Documentary about this, hence me going off and looking.

It was on C5 last night - which I assumed is why you raised the question.

What was more interesting was the crew dynamics - and failure of the 1st Officer to query what the captain was doing.

Has there been any report on the Asiana (also Korean) 777 crash at San Francisco yet?

[Trevatanus]

Eric Mc said:

Trevatanus said:

That's correct. I watched a Channel 5 Documentary about this, hence me going off and looking.

It was on C5 last night - which I assumed is why you raised the question.

Correct.

[S3_Graham]

Fitted to the Hawker 125 series as elevator/aileron ballast also.