After your original reference to the weight problem on the Lockheed Martin F-35 (Flight International, 25-31 March), you report three more instances of overweight problems in one issue (Flight International, 14-20 October) - on the Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche helicopter, Pratt & Whitney's F135 engine for the F-35, and the proposed weight increase of the Eclipse 500 due to replacement of the Williams FJ-22 engine with the P&W610.
The most serious relates to the Comanche, with a proposed $50 million redesign programme designed to achieve a weight reduction of 90kg (200lb).
The Ecllipse 500 change may be judged to be a sound business decision, but the same cannot be said for the Comanche or F-35 programmes. Boeing and Lockheed Martin have recently undergone major reorganisations, followed by significant staff reductions. In the process, two things seem to have happened: engineering programmes are no longer the product of an advanced engineering programme; and the introduction of "workstations" and computing systems seems to have created a culture of introspection.
This is borne out by the Comanche problem, where it apparently took a brainstorming to come up with solutions.It seems that board members need reminding that engineers are born and are not the product of virtual reality, and that when the development programme starts, innovation stops.
D F Newland
Stanmore, Middlesex, UK
Source: Flight International
