Hi Jim,

Ford, for example, introduced the dished, collapsing steering wheel and
standard factory installed seat belts in 1954, without any government
pushing. It was good for sales. I know this one because I was 13, hanging
around the dealerships and collecting brochures.

Air bags have killed a few dozen children, so they are not sacrosanct.

My last 6000 pound car got 20 MPG (A '72 Cadillac).
The 3600 pound '79 got 13. The Europeans were building small, economical
cars before the Japanese ever heard of a bicycle (No insult to the Japanese.
I have two Camrys).

Detroit has been left to much of its own devices. They charge a good profit
for the Government-mandated whistles and bells. WHICH THE GOVERNMENT DID NOT
INVENT OR DEVELOP. Detroit told them about air bags and shoulder harnesses
first. Government mandates raise profits, because they increase cost of
manufacture, which gets passed on to the consumer with customary markup.
Detroit owns big pieces of the government. That's why there are tarriffs on
competing foreign automobiles.

I had seat belts in every car I owned long before Big Brother started
passing out greenstamps for not using them, and requiring them as standard
equipment.

There is no way of telling if government screwed up general aviation, but
It's screwed up, as evidenced by folks like yourself having to engineer
decent, more advanced powerplant installations, buy aircraft kits, or plans
and materials, and build your own so you can fly reaonably ecomomical high
performance equipment.
                            And
The government's been in charge longer than I've been alive.

Old Cockeyed Jack

 Original Message -----
From: "Jim Sower" <canarder@frontiernet.net>
To: "Rotary motors in aircraft" <flyrotary@lancaironline.net>
Sent: Saturday, March 05, 2005 9:29 AM
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: fuel cutoff valve necessary?


> It was the government (and the Japanese) who brought us seat belts and
> shoulder harnesses, air bags, emission standards and a whole bunch of
> other beneficial developments.  If Detroit had been left to it's own
> devices, we'd still be driving 6000 lb cars getting 9 mpg with nothing
> at all to prevent you from being impaled on the steering column in an
> accident, brake lights and turn signals as tiny and invisible as style
> desired, etc. etc.
>
> I don't think it was the government screwed up general aviation.  I
> think it was a combination of liability issues and the unwillingness of
> the industry to invest in research and development.  I'm not at all
> certain which, if any, of these was most important.
>
> Let's abolish all the government teats - except the one that I'm hanging
> on ...
> Let's abolish all government regulation - except the ones that suit ME
> ... Jim S.
>
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