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-----Original Message----- From: William R. Bayne [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 11:45 PM To: Ed Burkhead Subject: WRB Re: [COUPERS-TECH] Ercoupe Technical Discussion (moderated) RLYTECH Hi John, Your question addresses the "dirty little secret" of the 415-C. There was an inadvertent design omission by Fred Weick when he modified the original production Ercoupe Model 415, Serial No. 1, into the Model 415-C. The Model 415 was aerodynamically shaped to enclose the narrower and deeper original powerplant. To maintain the original propeller thrust line in substituting the Continental flat four for the ERCO inverted four without changing the fuselage, Fred extended his redesigned cowling back over the upper fuselage from the firewall almost to the windscreen. This unique configuration technically extended the "firewall" separation required; although neither Fred nor the CAA realized this at the time. The good news is that the CAA caught it while reviewing the proposed Model 415-D, so all subsequent models were built with this protection. The bad news is that 4,423 415-C Models were produced without it. Hundreds have since been so modified. Most today agree that stainless firewalls offer superior fire protection for occupants from a fire of any origin on the other side. I suggest instead wondering if you would personally prefer the protection of stainless steel or aluminum sheet between an in-flight engine fire and the fuel tank in your cockpit just above your lap. The stainless skin may still not buy enough time under some scenarios, but I will always vote with my dollars to have this "extra margin" of safety for both pilot and passenger. Think of it as insurance purchased. For most, it is a losing proposition; they will never come out financially ahead. For those that face the challenge of a risk covered, their return is much greater than their cost; even given the difficulty of equating dollars and lives (or injuries). Of course those who choose to fly entirely uninsured may miss my analogy (and my point). Regards, William R. Bayne <____|-(o)-|____> (Copyright 2004) -- On Nov 22, 2005, at 9:27 PM, john jameson wrote: > is there any statistical evidence that the 415-c without the stainless > steel firewall has a higher incidence of fire injuries in accidents > than later models with it? just wondering? john jameson > > 1946 415 C ============================================================================== To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm Search the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers-tech/
