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Well said. I agree completely.
Bill
----- Original Message -----From: Ed BurkheadTo: 'Coupe-Tech'Sent: Monday, October 24, 2005 2:40 AMSubject: FW: WRB Re: [COUPERS-TECH] POH.----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----
From: William R. Bayne [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, October 24, 2005 1:38 AM
To: Ed Burkhead
Subject: WRB Re: [COUPERS-TECH] POH.
RLYTECH
Hi Wayne,
I understand exactly where you are coming from, but any black and white presentation ignores the gray of reality. To begin with, comparing a Piper Cherokee built in 1975 with an Ercoupe designed in 1939 is apples and oranges. Those 36 years are important in terms of how things were done.
For the owner/pilot of 1939, Fred Weick used all the "tricks" to keep the cost down. I don't recall the specifics (I DO have the information in my files), but the fuel pump on production Ercoupes was a common off-the-shelf automotive design. Overhaul kits were available at the local Western Auto, etc. This was what the manufacturer specified and used in TC 718 production airframes.
Functionally, ours is a TRANSFER pump. There is an hour find a place and land if it fails, presuming you buy a rainproof gauge, mark the "full" indication and observe any descent therefrom. Failure is not uncommon, but more of an inconvenience than an emergency if the gauge is properly monitored.
Rebuilding our pumps ain't rocket science. Automotive maintenance manuals contain full details. If our auto fuel pump rebuild kits were available today, I would not hesitate in the slightest to use compatible components (like the "approved" screen, etc. we must buy every annual for a C-note)! With regard to the differing arms, don't install one that's different (and verify THAT one was right)! Duh? Any presumption a competent mechanic today is less capable of routine work than his counterpart of yesteryear is as ludicrous as it is offensive.
Our problem today is that new (and rebuilt, if still available) pumps are from a sole source. Parts are not sold. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and current prices represent nothing less than legalized extortion. Skyport and Aircraft Spruce must pay whatever is asked, and sell at a reasonable profit.
Putting an aircraft part number on an automotive pump design does NOT retroactively make the automotive pump an "aviation" item. The "right" auto pump remains legal, as do its parts. Benjamin Franklin put it this way: "If you call a steer a bull, he's thankful for the compliment; but he would much prefer the restoration of what was rightfully his". Words alone don't change reality.
The brake reservoir on the prototype Ercoupe was fabricated from a Pet milk can. These same cans were ordered in quantity for modification and installation on production Ercoupes. I believe the specific brake cylinder chosen was an automotive one, as was the brake fluid, landing gear bearings, the battery, the oil pressure gauge, ammeter, starter pull, mixture cable, cabin heat cable, cabin air cable, electrical fuse, fuse recepticle, paint, and upholstery, ad infinitum.
The muffler clamps used on the Ercoupe have varied quite a bit over the years, and included AUTOMOTIVE clamps (sold with FAA oversight and added expense) distinguishable from ordinary automotive ones primarily by price...most certainly not by any design difference. Look at Ercoupes at the flyins, and a third or more show clear signs of exhaust leakage, without regard to what type exhaust clamps are installed.
My personal opinion is that the prewar Ercoupes with individual unmuffled stacks (on the A-65), and later similar exhausts installed on Alons and M-10s are MUCH safer and lighter than the postwar muffler design with joints on each side of a (hot) muffler jammed right against the firewall. If so much air didn't race through Ercoupe and Forney side window and other gaps, many more of us would suffer carbon monoxide poisoning from associated exhaust leaks.
A caution for the medical profession is "First, do no harm"! To that one could add "always use common sense". Now, would so labeling parts boxes (whether "approved" or "unapproved") improve aviation safety? OF COURSE NOT!
Does anyone REALLY believe a OSA gauge, VSI, cabin vent, shoulder harness, fireproof cushioning, CHT, EGT, circuit breaker, carb ice detector, or portable radio, headset or GPS should be of "approved" (TSO) design? One thing common to all these is that NONE were standard on a production Ercoupe.
ALL OF THEM IMPROVE SAFETY OF FLIGHT if installed and functional. Installation should be encouraged by being easy and inexpensive to do. TSO compliance and expensive engineering for each 337 on each airplane increase complexity and expense. More $$ = fewer installed. When bureaucracy adversely affects safety, something clearly and terribly wrong is happening.
I am still waiting for someone, ANYONE, to explain to me the difference in danger either to occupant or to the general public below between a properly constructed homebuilt aircraft and a properly constructed type certificated aircraft, each (properly) owner maintained and flying from point A to point B.
The single "justification" for the FAA looking over our shoulder all the time was to "regulate air commerce". Since they have been successful beyond their wildest dreams in eliminating any possibility we, the people, with a "mere" private license might make money (or even break even) with that piece of paper, perhaps it is time to petition Congress to recognize that private aviation has ceased to be "air commerce" in any way, shape or form. If high-paying American jobs with full benefits must be eliminated, let's start with the FAA!
Before Fred died, he confided with me that back when he was designing the Ercoupe no one in aviation would have dreamed in their worst nightmare that an agency would eventually evolve with as many employees as licensed pilots. I am amazed each day we pilots continue to meekly accept such a ridiculous state of affairs without question or objection.
It might be easier for me if I believed the sky to be "theirs", instead of "ours".
(off soap box)
WRB
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On Oct 23, 2005, at 9:28 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
In a message dated 10/23/2005 3:53:28 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Have had no luck on finding an old Ford or Case tractor pump. Any other Ideas.Ed,
I don't understand why you are looking for an old Ford or Case tractor fuel pump. The fuel pumps for these Continental engines have specific part numbers that are to be used for the specific models of the engine. The difference between the part numbers is in the design and geometry of the fuel pump actuator arm and linkage. If the wrong pump is used on an engine, the pump will either be over-stroked or under-stroked. If the pump is over-stroked, the mechanism could bind and the arm could break off, falling in the crankcase and wiping out the engine. If the pump is under-stroked, the pump will not keep the header tank full. If either of these events occur and you end up crashing the plane, the insurance company will have a perfectly valid reason to walk away from your claim
Why don't you get the correct new pump from Skyport or Aircraft Spruce or any of the other places that sell them?
Every time I read about someone using an unapproved part in an airplane I am reminded of the accident report about the Piper Cherokee that caught fire in flight, crashed and killed four people.
This article should be required reading for every airplane owner who thinks he or she is smarter than the engineers who specified which part to use where.
OK, I'll climb down off my soap box now. I'm wrapped up in firesleeve and fiberfrax. Let the flaming begin!
Wayne DelRossi
Alon N5618F============================================================================== To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm Search the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers-tech/
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