Re: Holes in fuselage [was: F22 Manueverability...]

John Weiss wrote:
"Paul J. Adam" <news@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote...
Didn't "Mythbusters" test this specific myth and find it was baseless? Shooting a hole in a pressurised cabin didn't cause structural failure, explosive decompression, or any of the other cinematic staples (and they certainly didn't manage to suck a test dummy out of the hole).

I doubt it would even take "Mythbusters" to expose that misconception!

A .45 round going through the aluminum skin of an airplane will create a .45" diameter hole.

I think the traditional worry is that the "highly stressed" fuselage will unravel in dramatic style, creating the sort of huge hole out of which anything from loose objects to people get blown in the inevitable whirlwind... hence the occasional variation that you have to hit the window (which of course is so brittle that it will shatter instantly).

Knowing that it's silly is one thing, but actually pumping up a fuselage and shooting a few holes in it helps take it from "trust me, I'm an engineer" to "watch it on TV and see why it's silly".


The idea might date back to the Comet disasters, perhaps. The first source I recall for the "bullet hole in aeroplane sucks people out" is the novel of Goldfinger, which was written with the Comet problems stillrecent news (the Comet crashes were 53-54ish, Goldfinger was published in 1959 and filmed in 1964) and while Fleming was an entertaining storyteller he wasn't exactly a master of technical detail.



--
He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.
Julius Caesar I:2

Paul J. Adam MainBox<at>jrwlynch[dot]demon{dot}co(.)uk
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Admiration for bullies
    ... Estonia is a stinking little hole run ... it look far too like you're shooting a fat lazy abdul fish in a barrel ...
    (uk.politics.misc)
  • Re: revolver shooting, how am I doing?
    ... it's hard to find anyone who doesn't knock revolvers ... Some folks would say, "just hitting the paper is good." ... to put all of their rounds through a single hole*. ... I don't see the distance from which you were shooting, ...
    (rec.guns)
  • Re: Whos asleep at Sterns wheel?
    ... De-emphasize Ace in the Hole multiball. ... Make the drop targets more interesting. ... Even without shooting at that them I ...
    (rec.games.pinball)
  • Re: F22 Manueverability...Any Questions?
    ... (not that I think smallarm rounds are really a serious problem in modern aircraft), ... Shooting a hole in a pressurised cabin didn't cause structural failure, explosive decompression, or any of the other cinematic staples. ...
    (rec.aviation.military)
  • Re: F22 Manueverability...Any Questions?
    ... overpenetration (not that I think smallarm rounds are really a serious problem in modern aircraft), ... Shooting a hole in a pressurised cabin didn't cause structural failure, explosive decompression, or any of the other cinematic staples. ...
    (rec.aviation.military)