Mystery aircraft

[Sea Fury]

As I understand it, the problem was in the design of the engine mounts for the outboard engines. They weren't strong enough to counteract the torque (I guess) from the engines and props; the engines twisted back and forth in flight, and this was transmitted to the wing spars, causing them to fail. A cure was found, but it was too late for the Electra as an airliner of choice.




Dan

Sort of, from what I can find. It wasn't the torque from the engines, but rather aerodynamic flutter affecting the nacelle. The wing itself was extremely stiff (and, it was thought, flutter-free as a result), but the nacelles were still subject to aerodynamic flutter. They eventually vibrated so much aerodynamically that it transmitted through to the wing, which resonated and failed. "Harmonic coupling." I guess the P-3 incorporated the fixes from the beginning.

[Mindervillain]

Yeah, I think the P-3 came after the days when the Electra was shedding wings. I flew commercial a number of times on PSA Electras - I always enjoyed taking off in them because the four turbo props always seemed serious about getting the aircraft off the ground now - if not sooner. Eyeballs were flattened. Next to the Electras, the conventional jets took off like a bunch of hesitant wimps. But their wings stayed on.

[BrentJackson]

Going along with what jetdoc said. I have seen these about 500 feet off the deck. Just a massive, rumbling beast!

You'd be lucky if you had hearing after an encounter with one of those, or so I am told. Louder than hell, the Tu-95.

[Tifositoo]

You'd be lucky if you had hearing after an encounter with one of those, or so I am told. Louder than hell, the Tu-95.

But not quite as loud as the XF-84H...Old Thunderschreech...




Dan

[ZOOOM]

The actual problem with the Electra was what was called "whirl mode".
The props would rotate on the gearbox connection to the engine ( they would pitch up to the right, then down to the right, then down to the left, then up to the left, if you catch what whirl means). They rotated around the gearbox shaft. This movement was then transmitted to the nacelle and wing. The wing was designed so stiffly that it wouldn't dampen the flutter. The NTSB set a max speed restriction on the plane while they tried to find out the cause.
They flew the airplane fully loaded and instrumented with sand bags in the passenger seats. They flew it into known thunderstorms and wind sheer. (How would you like to be the test pilots who flew that bird into trouble knowing that if you found the trouble you wouldn't be able to get out of it?)
Robert Serling (yes, the brother of Rod) wrote a VERY goog book on plane crashes and causes. He detailed the Electra incidents...

ZOOOM

[Jim Wilke]

No mystery here. C-17 over Alaska:

[BigWheelHawaii]

Beautiful Picture,,, Little Large,,, But Beautiful

Mahalo for Posting,,,

[BigWheelHawaii]

The actual problem with the Electra was what was called "whirl mode".
The props would rotate on the gearbox connection to the engine ( they would pitch up to the right, then down to the right, then down to the left, then up to the left, if you catch what whirl means). They rotated around the gearbox shaft. This movement was then transmitted to the nacelle and wing.
Robert Serling (yes, the brother of Rod) wrote a VERY goog book on plane crashes and causes. He detailed the Electra incidents...

ZOOOM

Aloha,,, Somewhere there is a great video, that
was film'd showing this whole scenario unfold...
I will try to find it,,, scary...

Edit:,,, This Is Worth The Price of Admission,,,

While passengers balked at getting on these,,,
"flying cylinders of death,,,"

Now That's Calling a Spade,,, a Spade,,,

[rrrr]

This photo does a good job of showing the anti-shock bodies incorporated into the wing of the Bear...these tapered cylinders dramatically reduce transonic speed wave drag. Their shape and size acts to cancel the shock waves produced by the aircraft. The USSR was an early pioneer in their development.

They are still used on modern aircraft...



The fairings which cover the flap track jackscrews on the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 777 are good examples.