#Boeing 737 max software problem update
#Boeing 737 max software problem manual

To hit that ambitious launch date, Boeing would have to take shortcuts on just about everything elseР”В«ut in order to offer its own new product when the new Airbus came out, Boeing would have to rush the airplane out the door in just five years - less time than it took to develop either the 777 or the 787. The neo changed that in a matter of months.

#Boeing 737 max software problem update

Boeing was caught by surprise: while Airbus had developed the neo in secret, BoeingРІР‚в„ўs engineers had spent five years debating whether to design a new 737 replacement or simply update the airframe, without resolution. In 2010, BoeingРІР‚в„ўs only rival, Airbus, unveiled the A320neo, a direct competitor to the 737 Next Generation that could fly farther on less fuel and with lower emissions than any other narrow-body airplane. The important thing to know about the 737 Max is that it was a rush job. The Max might still be flying today if those computers simply had to perform the same tasks that they had for almost 30 years. To keep costs down, Boeing wanted to reuse them in the next iteration of the 737 as well. Of course, old and slow isnРІР‚в„ўt always worse: the 737 Next Generation series is the safest narrow-body airplane ever made, in part due to these reliable, if unspectacular, computers. By the time they went to market, Nintendo had already replaced its 16-bit SNES console with the Nintendo 64 (the first game console to use - you guessed it - a 64-bit CPU), and IBM had created the worldРІР‚в„ўs first dual-core processor. Each computer features a pair of single-core, 16-bit processors that run independently of each other, which reduces computing power but also keeps a faulty processor from taking down the entire system.Р”В®ven by late-РІР‚в„ў90s consumer tech standards, the FCC-730s were behind the curve. So itРІР‚в„ўs more important for manufacturers to choose hardware thatРІР‚в„ўs proven to be safe, rather than run a fleet of airplanes on some cutting-edge tech with bugs that have yet to be worked out.Р”В«oeing took that ethos to heart for the Max, sticking with the Collins Aerospace FCC-730 series, first built in 1996. These computers can literally fly the airplane - they have authority over major control surfaces and throttles - which means that any malfunction could turn catastrophic in a hurry.

#Boeing 737 max software problem manual

These take some of the workload off of pilots, whether thatРІР‚в„ўs through full automation (such as autopilot) or through fine control adjustments during manual flight. Even by late-РІР‚в„ў90s consumer tech standards, the FCC-730s were behind the curveР”В®very 737 Max has two flight control computers.