Hacker News Reader

One thing that stood out to me - based on the narrative here the tail hook never could work in real world conditions. The blog mentions that the computer model used by the manufacturer was wrong.

Does that mean that manufacturers don’t field test the hardware? If so, that is scary.

View on HN

That's what the flight testing was for. I am not aware of a way to all-up test something as dynamic as an arrestment without actually building a jet and trying to catch a wire.

This is the field test of the hardware. When you've got a single customer anyway, it makes sense for the customer to participate in or fully drive the field test.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com