Sender: <marv@lancaironline.net> (Marvin Kaye)
To: lml
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 21:03:39 -0400
Message-ID: <redirect-2635793@logan.com>
Disposition-Notification-To: Brent Regan <brent@regandesigns.com>
From: Brent Regan <brent@regandesigns.com>
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Subject: Re: Of Men and EFIS
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The address for the RTCA website where you can purchase a copy of DO160D 
"Environmental Test Procedures for Airborne Equipment" is:

http://www.rtca.org

Be prepared, as a complete set is several hundred dollars. The bad news 
is that the AC link supplied by another subscriber is just the first two 
pages of several hundred.

John writes:
<<Would this kind of talk have poisoned the public image such that these 
terrific young guys (CFS) could not have
made it in the marketplace? >>

"This kind of talk" is just a reality check. IF you are buying an EFIS 
for synthetic vision and IF you plan to fly IFR and IF the EFIS in 
question has not been tested in a controlled fashion THEN you are asking 
for trouble. I could not care less how anyone spends their money on 
their airplane. I do not receive compensation for CFS sales. If you want 
to put a Ouija board on the panel, so be it. I DO have a problem when 
you get yourself hurt of killed if for no other reason than insurance 
cost and availability.

I do have a BIG problem with BMA, OP and others making claims that are 
false or misleading. Like the guy on the street corner selling the 5$ 
Rolex, it looks and works like the real thing but put it in a glass of 
water and you will find out "Waterproof" really means.

The EFIS systems on the market are ALL backed by bright and talented 
engineers. But sometimes engineers, like teenagers, are sure they have 
addressed all the problems when in fact they lack the specific 
experience to be aware of the scope of all that they do NOT know. It is 
easy to be confident and even arrogant when you are unaware of a 
hardware or software bug around the next bend that is going to have your 
liver for dinner, hold the Chianti.

As an example, during flight testing we were checking "brown out" 
functionality where the supply voltage is decreased slowly to simulate 
the buss voltage drop post alternator failure. The failure mode was that 
the AHRS began to roll and the "foggled" pilot (me) followed it to about 
a 45 degree bank. I thought I had a pretty good scan going but because 
so much information is already in one place (EFIS) the need for a scan 
to maintain control is decreased and therefore the scan itself suffers. 
The problem with the AHRS was identified and corrected. It turned out to 
be a very obscure interaction between components as the supply voltage 
dropped. I have dozens of stories like this. Most were found in the lab 
or during flight testing. Some made it into the field beta tests. All 
were corrected.

There are many factors present in modern society that are diminishing 
people's ability to think critically. Critical thinking is the simple 
application of logic and (un)common sense. One enemy of critical 
thinking is Political Correctness. Political Correctness is an absolute 
prohibition on offending anyone and dictates that certain kinds of 
thought or speech should not be indulged REGARDLESS OF THEIR BASIS IN 
TRUTH OR FACT.

Political correctness is fine for cocktail parties and political rallies 
but it has no place around airplanes. If a controller gives me a vector 
into a thunderstorm I am going to say NO and I don't care if his 
feelings are hurt. Likewise if an vendor is asking me to entrust my 
safety to their product, I don't care if they are insulted that I would 
question their claims and ask for proof. "Trust but Verify" was how 
President Reagan put it.

My message is simple "Don't fly behind an experimental primary flight 
display in actual IFR conditions unless that system has thoroughly 
demonstrated it's reliability." Having standby gauges in your "scan" may 
not be good enough.

If you think "that kind of talk" has too much "negativity", is mean 
spirited and should be suppressed then that that is your entitled 
opinion but I have seen too much death to put being "nice" or "liked" 
ahead of the truth and safety. If anything I have written is false then 
please correct it with facts, not opinions or pleas for "Why can't we 
all just get along?".

Hamid's comments regarding BMA's exaggerated claims of installed systems 
as of OSH '02 are accurate. I was there. The BMA website now shows 
pictures of 6 (plus the prototype) flying installations and several more 
"in the works".  Prospective buyers should track these guys down and 
quiz them since the BMA "Product Reviews" website page is blank. Please 
post your findings.

Brian writes:
<<Thank goodness Chelton/Sierra persevered over the naysayers like you 
back when the company was in it's infancy... If they hadn't, the SFS 
system wouldn't be here today >>

I laughed out loud at this comment. Hamid designed ALL the electronics 
and firmware for the CFS IDUs (certified and non certified) and provided 
critical engineering assistance during certification to BOTH Free Flight 
(GPS) and Crossbow (AHRS). The CFS EFIS exists BECAUSE of the efforts of 
Hamid, Rick Price, John Conti, myself and others. Hamid has, through 
hard work and experience, earned the right to call these claimants to 
task. Wise men would do well to seek his counsel and heed his advice.

How does that foot taste? ;-)

Good products will survive the perils of critics and real world 
application and will be better products as a result.

Please, no premature dirt naps.

Regards
Brent Regan