Destruction due to turbulence when below Va - how?

Howdy!

In article 01PLc.162096$XM6.47385@attbi_s53,
William W. Plummer wrote:
Capt.Doug wrote:
[snip]

Other planes break apart in different ways. The T-34 has been in the news
quite a bit lately because of wings falling off. It appears that the tail
isn't breaking. The cause is attributed to metal fatigue from repeated large

No. I've seen discussion that suggests the problem is operator error. Rolling
pullups can, apparently, generate excessive g-loads with remarkable ease.

[snip]

Metal fatigue, cracks and construction defects are not caused by
turbulence although turbulence may be the straw that breaks the camel's
back when those problems exist.

IIRC the Convair Electra was the first plane that metal fatigue was
determined to be the cause of its wings coming off. And, it took
years. What caused the fatigue? Gyroscopic motion of the wings.

Not quite. Damage to engine mounts would lead to whirl mode oscillation of
the engines, which would resonate with the wing, inducing flutter, leading
to wing coming off.

yours,
Michael


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