Why Do Boeing 767 Doors Open Upwards?

Sitting towards the front of an airliner often means a prime view of the operation of its main door. Typically, the opening of such portals sees the structure of the door swing outwards and to the side. However, if you’ve ever sat near the front of a Boeing 767, you may have noticed that its door instead moves upwards when opened. But why is this the case?

Have you noticed that the Boeing 767’s doors open differently? Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

How exactly do the 767’s doors differ?

Let’s start by examining video footage of how exactly a 767’s main door opens and closes. As you can see in the YouTube clip below, there is a great deal more automation than with other aircraft doors. The flight attendant merely has to pull a lever to unlock the structure, before pressing a button to prompt it to slide upwards into the aircraft’s roof.

Meanwhile, on most other airliners, flight attendants have to take a more manual approach to door operations. This evident from the clip below featuring a Boeing 737. While a lever is also used to unlock the door, the act of moving it out of the frame has to be done by the cabin crew themselves, rather than automatically as with the 767.

Stay informed: Sign up for our daily and weekly aviation news digests.

The reasons behind the quirk

Several factors contributed to the 767’s doors having different operational characteristics to other aircraft. According to Quora user and aircraft maintenance engineer Jan Krusat, the makeup of the 767’s design team played a key role. Specifically, several members of this group were former McDonnell Douglas engineers.

Boeing has produced more than 1,200 767s since 1981. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

With the 767’s design team having a McDonnell Douglas-influenced background, they drew on the DC-10 and MD-11’s door technology to develop a similar system for the 767. As you can see in the video below, the MD-11’s main door also opens upwards.

From an ergonomic point of view, the use of upwards-opening doors also makes it easier for crew to operate them. After all, having seen the videos of the different types, it is clear which type requires greater physical effort. It is worth noting that the motor can reportedly be disabled in emergencies, allowing for manual operation if required.

Still a role to play, particularly with cargo

For fans of the Boeing 767, the aircraft is unfortunately starting to become a less common sight in the domain of passenger-carrying services. Last week, Simple Flying took a closer look at how exactly the use of the type has decreased in the US in recent years. We found that, overall, this summer’s 767 operations there are set to see a significant fall vs pre-pandemic.

While the 767 now has less of a role to play carrying passengers, it is set to remain a cornerstone of the cargo sector for years to come. Photo: Tomás Del Coro via Flickr

With that being said, certain airlines do remain committed to the type. For example, US legacy carrier Delta Air Lines is retrofitting its 767-300ERs with a new premium economy cabin. Furthermore, the type is continuing to blossom in the cargo sector.

Indeed, Memphis-based logistics juggernaut FedEx recently received its 100th 767 freighter. Boeing continues to produce these cargo workhorses, meaning that FedEx’s 767s have an average age of just 3.6 years old. LATAM is also set to nearly double its fleet of 767 freighters by 2023. It is nice to see that, with such stories, the type still has a role to play.

Have you ever noticed this mechanical idiosyncrasy when flying on Boeing 767s before? Did you know the reasoning behind it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

from Simple Flying https://ift.tt/3viwjh1
via IFTTT