"M. J. Powell" wrote:

In message , Cub Driver
writes

What do readers think is the result of decompression via a bullet hole?

snip

So are you worse off risking explosive decompression, or of crashing
into Times Square at midnight?

As to the possibility of explosive decompression, as I understand the
matter, it could happen if a bullet fractured a window (though not if
it went through the skin). That's a mere possibility, as opposed to
the certainty of a suicide dive, absent the sky marshal.

A normal bullet hole would be no problem. There's already a much
larger vent to the outside, which stabilizes cabin pressure against
the fresh & heated air being pumped in from the engines. People
smarter than I say that this hole is about three inches in diameter.

I'm glad you mentioned 3" in diameter. During my RAF service my wireless
mechanics had to pass a camera cable from a bomb bay into the pressure
cabin in a Valiant. To my surprise they found a hole about 3" diameter
in a convenient place.

I said 'surprise' because I was in Signals and knew nothing about the
structural properties of the aircraft. I imagined that the pressure
cabin would be tightly sealed.


It is Mike (comparitevely at least)...they sure didn't use the
'outflow valve' nor the 'dump valve' (right beside it) to pass a
cable (unless they did it for testing on the ground or somesuch.
These valves need to 'modulate' the pressure inside the cabin
while climbing and during flight so you couldn't use them for
passing cables through during flight

What about the loss of a window due to bullet strike? Would there be
structural failure?

Mike

Most unlikely, the window frame is pretty strong and likely
wouldn't propagate cracks.
--

-Gord.