Quote:
Originally Posted by j-c-c
"11) absence of the VGs might have improved safety implications for ground crews working in the vicinity of the tail."
Ok, that one lost me.  |
You're walking the length of the entire lower 50% of the cylindrical fuselage, close to a surface, then encounter rigid knife blades, with outwards length equal to the boundary layer thickness just ahead of the upswept tail.
If you lose your footing on a ground power umbilical, HVAC flex-duct, refueling hose, etc., it's a hard landing for your head, and on a very small, very sharp contact patch.