Don’t waste your time trying, Mike –
progress in technology has always brought risks (particularly in the early days
before all the gottchas had been identified), the question is whether the
overall gain from employing technology is worth the risks incurred? For the average
driver, anti lock brakes, seat belts, air bags, anti crush cages, crumpable
front ends, and other advancements based on technology had undoubtedly save
more lives than they have endangered - by far.
Sure you can always find exceptions –
the individual who lived because they were not wearing seat belts and was
thrown from the vehicle before it went over the cliff– but then you read the
paper and discover how many folks died because the WERE thrown from the vehicle
which roll over on them, etc.
Having said that, I must admit I am not
terribly keen on having computer chips and sensors make life affecting
decisions for me – perhaps because I sort of program them myself {:>). Its
not because I don’t understand the technology – its because I do {:>). But,
no, I’m not about to give up my EC2, nor my EFISM, nor …. Well, you get the
idea.
Ed
From: Rotary motors in aircraft
[mailto:flyrotary@lancaironline.net] On
Behalf Of Mike Wills
Sent: Sunday, March 14, 2010 9:29
PM
To: Rotary
motors in aircraft
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: Ut-Oh...
I got in a discussion with a guy at the airport yesterday
regarding the Toyota
drive by wire throttle problem. He's of the opinion that technology has gone
way too far. He want federal regulations that prevent manufacturers from placing
electronic systems in throttle, braking, and steering systems. He concedes that
cars now are far safer than they were 30 years ago (where he is apparently
stuck), but in his opinion even one death attributed to "too much
technology" is one too many. How do you have an intelligent conversation
with someone like that?
Sent: Sunday,
March 14, 2010 8:39 AM
Subject:
[FlyRotary] Re: Ut-Oh...
Thanks David,
Both you and Jon are aviators and I knew you guys understood the
score on this stuff. It's mostly the non-flyers that think that every
conceivable failure / error mode can and must be eliminated. Try
yes, but it will never be 100%. I'm too embarassed to say how many
times I've inadvertantly turned off my fuel pump switch. Must move it
soon.
BTW, I think it is a tribute to the community of experimental builders and
pilots that so many power out landings end as gracefully as the ones that have
been discussed on this list. Don't know the official stats but my
impression is that only a small fraction of typical GA power out incidents end
this well.
Tracy Crook
On Sun, Mar 14, 2010 at 11:04 AM, David Leonard <wdleonard@gmail.com> wrote:
I definately do not consider this a short coming of the EC2.
Though, I do think that I will cut down the switch to help prevent a
recurrence. Though I don't think I will ever neglect to check that if
something should happen in the future... I wonder what else is lurking
out there.
On Sun, Mar 14, 2010 at 7:10 AM, Tracy Crook <tracy@rotaryaviation.com>
wrote:
I know Dave or Jon wouldn't phrase it this way but I've already
received a number of messages from others about these two recent in-flight
power failures due to EC2 issues.
Jon's was due to a loose mounting nut inside the EC2 that shorted the
main power input filter to ground and burned open both foils from the 2 power
input pins. How lucky was that.
Anyway, at the risk of sounding defensive, I thought I'd share my
response to one of them that suggested changing the EC2 case to an external
mount of some sort. I'm sure there are scores of messages on the way
urging me to place switch guards on the cold start switch : )
REPLY
Hello ----------
I'm aware of the failure and have the unit here for repair.
Like a thousand other critical details in building an aircraft, it
is not possible to explicitly spell out all of them. The precise method
and hardware used to accomplish it are not part of the EC2 or the instructions.
The first paragraph of the installation guide does say the following:
"Needless to say, the quality of installation is just as important as the
quality of the hardware itself. It is not practical to include a course
on proper electrical wiring practices in these installation instructions, but
it is imperative that proper wiring techniques be employed during the
installation of the EC2."
It was my thought that avoiding the presence of loose metal objects inside an
electrical device that your life depends on fell into the category of
"needless to say".
Nevertheless, a cautionary note might well be worth adding. As also
stated in the first paragraph of the instructions,
" I want your project to succeed and your life to be a long and happy one.
"
All the best,
Tracy Crook, RWS
On Sun, Mar 14, 2010 at 2:34 AM, David Leonard <wdleonard@gmail.com>
wrote:
Boy, word sure gets around these days..
short answer... inadvertently hit cold start switch while messing with GPS and
flying at 1000' AGL.. not enough time to troubleshoot... had to fly
plane and find a place to land.
Both happy and appalled when the I realized the problem 2 minutes after the
commotion stopped. The tower must have been plain appalled when I took
off again later this afternoon.
--
David Leonard
Turbo Rotary RV-6 N4VY
http://N4VY.RotaryRoster.net
http://RotaryRoster.net
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