Re:Boeing delays 737 MAX software fix delivery
by ams6110 on Tuesday April 02, 2019 @02:40PM
(#19557259)
All jet airliners with engines under the wings have an "off-center-of-gravity" thrust. They all want to pitch up when thrust is applied. The MAX, with the engines higher and more forward, actually has less of an issue with this. The issue with the MAX is that the large engine nacelles forward of the wing can produce their own aerodynamic lift at high angles of attack. This is what MCAS compensates for.
Yes, because the problem with the MAX is that the engines provide an off-center-of-gravity thrust. If the engines weren't running, the MAX would glide just like any other 737.
There is also the case of the Gimli Glider [1], and any commercial airliner is certainly capable of "gliding" for at least some time, but I think the GP was adhering more to the actual definition of "glider" [2], which is an aircraft that can fly entirely without power from any engines at all.
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider
2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glider_(aircraft)