Ever wonder how they test aircraft wings?

[pokerfan]

I worked with an engineer who once worked for Boeing. He said that wing test were... exciting. To stress to failure, they actually have to pull the wingtips over the top of the airframe and pull them within tens of feet of each other. If you're a nervous flyer, relax. That plane can take a helluva lot more than you can.

This is the Boeing 787 Dreamliner being tested:



http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2010/03/30/ever-wonder-how-they-test-aircraft-wings

[flamin lib]

1. Reminds me of the question asked by a passenger to the

Captain of a cruise ship.

"How often does one of these ships sink?"

Reply, "Only once."

Airplanes really are safe--and so are cruise ships.

[pokerfan]

3. Yeah, I know

but when things get turbulent and I look out and see the wings flopping around I will keep this picture in mind. Planes can fall out of the sky for any number of reasons, but it's pretty unlikely the wings are going to just fall off.

[The Magistrate]

2. In The Old Days, Sir

They used to pile sand on them, either to a specified multiple of the machine's weight, or till something broke. I regret I cannot quickly supply a photograph of the process, but I have seen a number of them.

[Lithos]

4. I think it is an issue of time and scale here

As placing sand is both tedious and an art form for something like this. Also given the gross deformation, how difficult it would be to make sure the sand would stay on.