BaronSloan

44 minutes ago, davecttr said:

So they have an aircraft that can't maintain level flight without computer controlled fly by wire? and no pilot controlled fly by wire? so if the computer fails for whatever reason you are on the way to crashing?

Apparently if the attitude correction computers fail for any reason or they are fed incorrect data from the sensors, the 737 Max can be difficult for the pilots to control.

52 minutes ago, jake 26 said:

I stand corrected. I was reading an article about them and the centre of gravity issue and the illustration made it appear that the engines were fuselage mounted.

No problem, it seems a very risky way to modify an existing successful aircraft design. It would seem that Boeing are getting their comeuppance now, sadly at the cost of hundreds of innocent passenger's lives.

23 minutes ago, jake 26 said:

 

The main identifying feature is that the engines are mounted on  the fuselage forward of the wings instead of on the wings as in previous 737s.

That, apparently, is because the engines are larger and heavier than previous models and are far more powerful and fuel efficient.

They're certainly not mounted on the fuselage! The new much larger diameter engines on the 737 Max are cantilevered further forward in front of the wings (instead of underneath them) and higher up, this changes the centre of gravity now making the aircraft aerodynamically unstable, meaning it needs the computer controlled fly-by-wire system in order to maintain level flight.

The constant loud music in many public areas was the main downside of our cruise on Discovery in May, the only escape from it on the long sea days was in our cabin (without balcony). Marella seem to be slightly out of touch with their main clientelle, I'm pretty sure the majority of them would prefer a bit of peace and quite in order to enjoy what should be relaxing sea days, not an aural assault on the senses.