25 AUGUST 2021 WorldWide Drilling Resource® Bigger is not Always Better by Britt Storkson Owner, P2FlowLLC The Airbus A380 is a very large airliner capable of carrying up to 853 passengers, it was the biggest airliner ever made. I say “was” (past tense) because it won’t be made anymore. Airbus recently announced A380 production would end by 2021. This airplane was supposed to deliver the lowest seat-mile cost and was the leader in that area until Boeing introduced the 787 which featured a 10% improvement in fuel consumption. Since about 50% of an airlines’ cost to operate an airplane is the cost of fuel, it was a big event. I suspect development of the A380 had more to do with hubris and “bragging rights” than it did with form and function. According to a Wikipedia report, Airbus admitted the company will never recoup the $25 billion investment it made in the project. Difficulties in electrical wiring caused a two-year delay and the development cost ballooned. The New York Times stated the A380 is by far the most complex commercial jet Airbus has ever built. It is equipped with 100,000 different wires, totaling 330 miles in length, performing 1150 separate functions with over 40,000 connectors. Of course, all of that wiring added a lot of weight, which is a critical component of aircraft design. While I couldn’t find anything in a search regarding the number of sensors the Airbus A380 uses, Airbus’ own website says the smaller Airbus A350 airplane has 50,000 sensors onboard collecting 2.5 terabytes (that’s trillions of bytes) of data every day; Airbus itself admits most of this data is not used. So Airbus built an airplane that collects data which it doesn’t need and doesn’t use to fly or otherwise enhance the airplane operation - which means it has sensors that may or may not be needed as well. All of these sensors and their support network (wiring and connectors) add very little in actual value (positive qualities), but do add considerable weight and complexity plus take up space that could be better used (negative qualities). This additional and unnecessary weight requires additional fuel to move all of this extra “baggage”, as well as makes the computer control system more complex and difficult to troubleshoot. The complexity “curve” is not linear, it’s exponential. If one doubles the number of components and/or software, the complexity is quadrupled. So what’s the point here? The point is to use only the components and software needed for a given task - no more, no less. Sometimes, redundancy is required to guarantee a reliable product, but it should be decided on a case-bycase basis, not “across the board”. If these principles are followed, you’ll end up with a better and far less expensive - as well as a far more reliable - product in the end. Britt Britt Storkson may be contacted via e-mail to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com 302-684-3197 FAX: 302-384-0643 142 Broadkill Rd. • Milton, DE 19968 www.atlantic-screen.com email: atlantic@ce.net Manufacturers of Slotted & Perforated Pipe ranging from ½” to 24” diameter Atlantic Screen & Mfg., Inc. • Well Rehab. Products • Manholes • Bentonite • Filter Sock • Inline Chemical Mixers • Sampling Bailers • Clear PVC Pipe • Locking Caps October Issue Deadlines Space Reservation: August 25 th Display & Classified Ad Copy: September 1 st
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