Can't help thinking that the real 737 has trouble staying in the air.... It has so many bits and pieces* added on to help it falling out of the sky... Just noticed some additional vortex generators on the leading edge of this -800... Can't recall seeing them on the Old Gen aircraft.http://members.ozemail.com.au/~b744er/737/737800LE.jpgJust wondering if those holes in the leading edge are also designed for assisting with lift properties :-) Cheers.Ian.*Chines, winglets, vortex generators, etc....

No picture Ian

Not sure what happened there.... My internet provider seems to be experiencing technical difficulties. Try again... I think it has started running properly now.Cheers.Ian.

Hey, Ian, cool repaint of the PMDG! :D GreetingsThomas

"Hey, Ian, cool repaint of the PMDG!"LOL... Did you notice my artistic touches, Thomas?... Notice how the black smear marks extending from some of the screw heads make the aircraft look like it's moving, even when it's standing still :(Cheers.Ian.P.S. BTW, back in the bad old days, when smoking was permitted in flight, these smear marks were a helpful indicator. It used to show loose rivets and other sources of cabin pressure leaks. The smear marks were caused by cigarette nicotine (or tar, perhaps). On the other hand, this toxic waste was often the source of pressurization problems.... It used to gum up the pressurization outflow valve mechanisms :-(

Hi Ian: Not sure if the holes serve the same purpose or not, but some US Navy aircraft have these holes near the leading edge and blow air over the top surfsce of the wing in an attempt to fool the wing into thinking it's actually going faster than it really is. Net result is a better low speed which is much appreciated on approach to the carrier.. Mike B.

Gentlemen,Unless I am mistaken (and thats certainly possible) those are the Exit holes in the slats for the Wing Anti-Ice system. The air is ducted into the leading edge slats and then distributed along the leading edge exiting at these holes. Regards Paul Gollnick :-coolTechnical Operations/Customer Operational SupportPrecision Manuals Development Groupwww.precisionmanuals.com

"... in an attempt to fool the wing into thinking it's actually going faster than it really is."Sounds like you let out some top secret information, there Mike... I didn't realise Navy aircraft wings were capable of rational thought :-)The holes on the 737NG, however, have a much less important task.... They are simply outlets for wing anti-ice air, after the air has been used to heat up the slat leading edges. As far as I know, the waste air doesn't have any secondary purpose, such as boundary layer modification... or even for warming the underside of the wing (In the latter case, at, say, 200kts, I don't think the air coming out of a few small holes will have any effect on underwing temperature ;-)). Cheers.Ian.

Darn... beat me to the punchline by a few nanoseconds! :-)

Fast Fingers :-outtaPaul Gollnick :-coolTechnical Operations/Customer Operational SupportPrecision Manuals Development Groupwww.precisionmanuals.com

The holes are for the TAI The vortex generators were added during flight test because the wing was too clean and used to dirty up the flow and channel airflow to the ailerons. The ailerons had to be moved inboard for the gull wing and had little control at slow speeds. If you look at the flaps you will see some there too. And how about the stall strip added to the leading edge above the inboard k flap due to the wing tip stalling before the wing root the pilot about #### when the aircraft rolled instead of stalling.

Great stuff... Thanks, Robert :-)No wonder the drivers are reporting that it doesn't quite fly like the old one :-lolCheers.Ian.

Well, I have those smear marks on my Ford Focus too...:-lol By the way, I have two questions concerning real-life aviation:1. Once I was flying on a 747 (as a passenger:-) ) when during climb after takeoff I noticed, that the captain didn't retract the flaps. 15 min. later he told us, that one of the hydraulic systems was failing and that we shouldn't worry, because the 747 has three hydraulic systems as backup. Is that true?2. On another flight on an Air France (I can't remember which aircraft) I noticed like red smear marks near the spoilers. Do some aircraft have like a red hydraulic fluid or was it just blood of some poor bird that crashed into the spoiler?RegardsThomas

Poor aerdynamics ???Those whole play no part in that. There the outlets for the leading edge anti iceing. Hot air clearly goes into the leading edge through the anti icing valve operated in the flight deck and the hot air comes out of these holes possition along the under side of the slats only

ThomasThe captain don't lie :-lolThe 747 does have 4 hydraulic systems, Loss of a single hyd system in most cases is more of an inconvenience than a major emergency however depending on which system failed, it can make for a bit of extra work on the landing. System #1 failure means you need to do a manual gear extension and will need a tow back to the gate due to no nose wheel steering :-)The red mark you saw was probably a grease streak from the last maintenance. The old grease we used to use to lubricate all the flight control surfaces was called (not suprisingly) "Aeroshell Red" probably due to its wonderful red tint. RegardsPaul Gollnick :-coolTechnical Operations/Customer Operational SupportPrecision Manuals Development Groupwww.precisionmanuals.com