If black-boxes are the only things that survive a plane crash, why don't they make airplanes out of the same material that they make black-boxes out of?

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• yah, but wouldn't it be cool to cocoon people in like the bb components?

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  by Poseidon on October 18th, 2006

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• Thanks for your excellent answer, my friend!
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  I and others also thought the plane would be too heavy, but none of us knew about extra g-force from a more resilient aircraft body being transferred to the passengers.

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  by Brian on October 9th, 2009

• I'll second that. Excellent answer!

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  by Dodgy Dog in a Sable COAT on October 9th, 2009

• Thanks for the complements!

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  by Tveg on October 9th, 2009

• "If I recall correctly, aortic rupture typically occurs at around 21 G's. If that force is exceeded for any reason, it's permanent lights out."
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  Yikes!
  What's the highest GF that a healthy human can withstand, without any ill effects?

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  by Brian on October 9th, 2009

• I haven't looked it up recently but from memory, I seem to remember that 16 g is deadly.

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  by Dodgy Dog in a Sable COAT on October 10th, 2009

• When I used to do aerobatics, most people would start to gray out at about 3.5 - 4 G's. I have pulled 6 a number times with no tunnel vision at all (the limit with a 1.5 airframe safety factor). Military pilots do their G testing to about 9 G's before passing out with a kill switch in their hands while in a huge centrifuge with a seat(like in the James Bond movie). They have no ill effects. Current military ejection seats are 12 - 14 G's the last time I checked (most now probably closer to 12), but I believe they used to be a bit higher than they are now, due to injuries. The pilots end up about a half inch shorter if they survive the ejection...definitely an ill effect! I think the Soviets used to have some seats that subjected the pilots to quite a few more G's (I'm thinking in the 18 - 19 G range), but luckily toned it down. I'm sure that would kill someone whose head isn't positioned just right.
  
  I'm certainly not an expert, but would give a final answer of 9 - 11 G's.

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  by Tveg on October 10th, 2009

• Tveg: Just out of curiosity, at how many Gs would a plane fall out of the sky?

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  by Dodgy Dog in a Sable COAT on October 10th, 2009

• For an accelerated stall, there isn't a set G force. It would vary with things such as airspeed and power. A snap roll is a maneuver where the airplane is suddenly stalled while at full throttle by pulling full back on the stick, full rudder is applied, it goes upside down, and is recovered facing the same way as the maneuver was started. In one plane I used to do them in, normal stall speed was about 50 mph, and the snap roll was entered at 92 mph. The G force causing the stall was about 3. Keep in mind this was slower than cruise speed.
  
  Once most aircraft are going faster than a certain speed, structural deformation occurs before G's cause a stall (not a good thing). Flying at or below turbulent air penetration speed theoretically allows the aircraft to stall before breaking.
  
  The 727 I used to fly was rated for +2.5, -1 and I believe that is also with the 1.5 safety factor just as with general aviation aircraft.
  
  To give an answer in general, I would say almost 4 G's.

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  by Tveg on October 10th, 2009

• Thank you.

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  by Dodgy Dog in a Sable COAT on October 10th, 2009

• "The pilots end up about a half inch shorter if they survive the ejection...definitely an ill effect!"
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  LOL! F***'n A yeah an ill effect!
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  Can G forces be expressed in terms of PSI?

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  by Brian on October 10th, 2009

• I have never heard of it expressed that way.

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  by Tveg on October 10th, 2009

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• i thought it was filled with some kind of shock absorbing gel.

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  by The Un-named on November 23rd, 2009

• Well, the one we use is. But I was reading on the one for commercial jets, since most people don't often deal with F-16s. But yeah, it probably would have to be filled with it to on commercial airliners to keep the electronics intact when impact occured.

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  by Z-Weezy on November 23rd, 2009

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• TASERED!!!

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  by POLICE...IN HOT PURSUIT on November 23rd, 2009

• literally it would not fly.

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  by The Un-named on November 23rd, 2009

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• exactly+

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  by science_geek on November 15th, 2008

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• i dr'ed you cause your statement has nothing to do with the question.

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  by The Un-named on November 23rd, 2009

• This answer was posted here by mistake. I chose not to answer this question because so many people had answered correctly. Sorry for the mistake. Problem is, I don't remember where this answer goes. LoL. Oh well.

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  by Ramblin Ricky on November 24th, 2009

• i undr'ed you :)

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  by The Un-named on November 24th, 2009

• LoL. You didn't have to. I con't much care about the points anymore. Still, the gesture is appreciated. Thx.

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  by Ramblin Ricky on November 24th, 2009

• Oh, I remember now. The question had something to do with cars having shipment, and ships having cargo.

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  by Ramblin Ricky on November 24th, 2009

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• Actually, they are orange. I have never seen or heard of one being red in civil aircraft.

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  by Tveg on October 9th, 2009

• actually you are correct they are orange.

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  by Thinker on October 10th, 2009

• Sorry to nitpick. I used to see them all the time while doing a pre-flight inspection.

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  by Tveg on October 10th, 2009

• and i used to be and aircraft mechanic and delt with lots of them

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  by Thinker on October 10th, 2009

• Out of curiosity, do you know what gauge of metal is used? I have never seen one opened up.

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  by Tveg on October 10th, 2009

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• At my work we once made a car capable of wistanding a 15 MPH impact with a brick wall. The car was unhurt but even buckled passengers would have been seriously injured or killed.
  crush is good!

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  by csimme01 and Ninja Cooper UNMASKED on December 7th, 2007

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• See Tveg's answer. It is spot on!

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  by Dodgy Dog in a Sable COAT on October 9th, 2009

• You're right about Tveg's answer, Dodgy Dog.
  He was an airliner pilot for 8 years.

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  by Brian on October 9th, 2009

• There you go. I didn't know that but sometimes you can spot a good answer when you see it.

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  by Dodgy Dog in a Sable COAT on October 9th, 2009

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