Mike,( I always like your posts, don't take offence out of hand!) Firstly, I don't understand your point, but I would like to thank you for the time you spent putting it forward. Typing is such a dreary, half baked way of communication.
Secong, What, ultimately is the answer, or an answer, or could be improved? I have a deal of experience in manufacturing machinery and I could not fit a batch of doors to a helo that would all be the same, I don't know of anyone who could. The parameters are too flexible. I guarantee the door made for the frame would not fit in Alaska, and if it did, it would not fit in 3 months of helo use in Hawaii, simple engineering problem, currently no satisfactory all purpose fix. The current answer is, unfortunately, build it substandard. For a door that would mean the thing is overweight and loose fitting. For an engine? If I were to build an engine to power an aircraft (my dream aircraft perhaps) it would be about 2/3 the size of today's current crop and have about twice the output. Perfectly possible with todays standards. No problem at all, really. :-) If I was to certify it however, there would be a time lag in production that would make it 3 years (guess) old, 90 percent of the current size and weight of a current motor and about 2/3 as powerful as it could be. Hardly cutting edge is my point. Then I would ask the user to put the globally available sub-standard fuel and incorrect amounts of OIL (2 stroke) in it, not change any filters or check plugs, clearances, oxy levels or temperatures, ignore instruments and locale, generally ignore the fact your life is resting on the mechanical basis of a lawn mower and go fly. This isn't the scene we all fly by, its what the manufacturer has to cope with for reasons of litigation and general safety. Would you manufacture such a complex machine with limitation such as this? If you would make such a thing, can you employ 3 or 4 secretaries to fill in the paperwork to get it certified and then risk your house if it goes wrong? Making a profit yet? I know most of us would still fly gliders with engines and the lucky ones do. Look at the grief Theilart are going through with their diesel engines. Compare a space shuttle, a Eurofighter and a 757 Boeing, the public Boe bus will be the outdated one, yet will be the safest by far. Personally, I am somewhere between bored senseless and terrified during every tug launch I take. Is it going to stop?..... how old is this design? Who serviced it, who did a rapid decent recently, blah, blah?? Or opposingly, Why are we going up so damn slow, how much fuel are we wasting, what's all that noise, did we set fire to anything on takeoff, blah blah?? Its all a balance, sometimes tragically. At the end of the day, we must learn more about the things we are entrusting our life to. Please people, if you are using a self launcher or turbo, UNDERSTAND it. Go to a couple of go-kart meetings and chat with the tinkerers there. Check your fuels and oils, listen to the sounds, don't take any shortcuts. Engines like ours never go as well as they do JUST BEFORE THEY DESINTERGRATE! Hear the sounds, smell the smells and feel the shakes. If it is different to normal, don't trust it, check it. What we put behind us is explosively hot, reliant on a dozen unstable parameters, vibrating, unloving, outdated and unreliable. As soon as you understand a motor is untrustworthy, it is probably safe. A motor vehicle tyre is perfectly safe sitting in the garage, but hey, going to use it?!? Carry a spare! We can't apply modern manufacturing standard to what some manufactures do, even with the numbers of hang-gliders, ultralights and probably "personal water craft", there just isn't the numbers. IF we do try to apply such standards, we diminish the opportunity for new ideas to surface against the current stream, which is a part of why there are so few engine manufactures in aviation, to its detriment. Lets give some assistance to the manufacturers still out there and teach each other about their equipment every chance we get. Check it, double check it, learn about it. Wayne Carter Annual rant complete Nothing much out of the ordinary, Move along now please _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [email protected] To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
