Rotax engines make good paperweights too

[dazza 38]

I dont think Rotax or Jabiru for that matter make good paper weights.They are just too heavy to pick up and move when wanting to retreive a piece of paper from under them.

 

 

[Tomo]

Depends on the velocity of the explosion as to how many pieces you'll have for paper weights...

 

 

[Powerin]

If, after an AUTHORITATIVE review, a change to standard practices are warranted then there should be no need to continue the standard practice.

Yes, good points Col. I really hope Jabiru has the expertise to make the authoritative reviews. Perhaps they do.

I have no qualifications to judge the merits of either engine. I just dislike it when the claim is made that it's all just Ford/Holden or Aussie bashing. It's not. Many here arrive at their opinions via a lot of experience, research and reading -some anecdotal, some authoritative, not via brand loyalty.

 

 

[Yenn]

To say that the bit sticking out the top is redundant, is hardly going to inspire confidence in the writers knowledge of matters mechanical. If nothing sticks out the top of the nut there is no material to carry the compression load from the top of the nut. Just imagine that you have a loaded bolt and cut it off at the top of the nut, you are reducing the strength of the top of the threads and that can cause failure.

 

 

[eightyknots]

I'm not sure what kind of engine was on this plane but the good news was that the pilot and passenger both survived to tell the tale:

 

http://www.wimp.com/emergencylanding/

 

 

[cscotthendry]

I'm not sure what kind of engine was on this plane but the good news was that the pilot and passenger both survived to tell the tale:http://www.wimp.com/emergencylanding/

LOL, notice how they calmly pulled into a convenient parking lot!

 

The engine sounded like a two stroke to me whatever it was.

 

IMO, two strokes are fine for lawn mowers, marginal for boats and completely unsuitable for aircraft. (Now watch me get a pasting for that one!)

 

Rotax Vs Jab? The Jabs just keep appearing in the incident reports too often for my liking. The Rotaxes ARE expensive, but what is your life worth?

 

 

[skeptic36]

LOL, notice how they calmly pulled into a convenient parking lot!The engine sounded like a two stroke to me whatever it was.

 

IMO, two strokes are fine for lawn mowers, marginal for boats and completely unsuitable for aircraft. (Now watch me get a pasting for that one!)

 

Rotax Vs Jab? The Jabs just keep appearing in the incident reports too often for my liking. The Rotaxes ARE expensive, but what is your life worth?

It continues to frustrate me that people make such a direct link between engine failure and loss of life. No wonder pilots panic when the inevitable happens.

 

Regards Bill

 

P.S I' m having a lot of fun with my 2 stroke which I wouldn't be able to afford if the option wasn't available.

 

 

[eightyknots]

The engine sounded like a two stroke to me whatever it was.

IMO, two strokes are fine for lawn mowers, marginal for boats and completely unsuitable for aircraft. (Now watch me get a pasting for that one!)

cscotthendry: better reach for a helmet NOW

 

 

[turboplanner]

It continues to frustrate me that people make such a direct link between engine failure and loss of life.

You must have forgotten - in the last couple of years at least two or three members of this forum died needlessly through stalling immediately after nothing more than engine failures.

 

RA does not have a good record here, partly because of the airstrips used next to hills/forests etc.

 

 

[skeptic36]

You must have forgotten - in the last couple of years at least two or three members of this forum died needlessly through stalling immediately after nothing more than engine failures.RA does not have a good record here, partly because of the airstrips used next to hills/forests etc.

If you don't have a way out, a plan, an option, call it what you want, then you shouldn't be there.

 

There have been times when i have thought, uh oh I shouldn't be here, and humans are not infallible, but surely it should be considered the exception rather than the norm.......

 

I wonder if the pilots you speak of may have panicked due to incomplete training and the constant reference to engine failure equals loss of life.

 

 

[turboplanner]

1. If you don't have a way out, a plan, an option, call it what you want, then you shouldn't be there.2. There have been times when i have thought, uh oh I shouldn't be here, and humans are not infallible, but surely it should be considered the exception rather than the norm.......

3. I wonder if the pilots you speak of may have panicked due to incomplete training and the constant reference to engine failure equals loss of life.

1. I agree with that thinking; it gives you a subconscious arsenal of tools which kicks in in a fraction of a second.

 

2. There are those times, but if you are thinking that you'll usually be formulating a plan for a way out.

 

3. The pilots I'm thinking of were well trained. I'm more concerned that the constant reference to engine failure is it's a piece of cake.

 

In these cases the pilots didn't react. That can be due to the known delay in reaction time, the disbelief when something completely unexpected happens, or any number of other causes.

 

In addition to these, I lost a CFI in a Queenair who didn't make it in an engine failure after takeoff on to flat open paddocks with very few obstructions.

 

You can be doing everything right, and a power line will take you out, or someone will have dug a drain across a paddock, or grass will be covering a log, or you'll be hit by a gust of wind.

 

The results of the statistics I collected in the 41 RA forced landings indicated our training did kick in, and the pilots did get the aircraft down with only one serious injury, but you can't ignore the bigger picture statistics, you need to take control of the risk.

 

 

[eightyknots]

The results of the statistics I collected in the 41 RA forced landings indicated our training did kick in, and the pilots did get the aircraft down with only one serious injury, but you can't ignore the bigger picture statistics, you need to take control of the risk.

Perhaps airbags in light aircraft?

 

 

[Wayne T Mathews]

Perhaps airbags in light aircraft?

We've already got sort of airbag thingies. They're called ballistic recovery systems.

 

 

 

[turboplanner]

That's an interesting point.

 

The Federal Government requires you to pay several thousand dollars in your car price for items mandated by law such as:

 

Progressive crumple rate

 

Seat belts with ADR anchorages

 

Anti side intrustion bars

 

Air bags

 

Collapsible steering columns

 

Non-condensed controls and switches

 

Laminated windscreen

 

ADR brakes which replicate the same performance on all cars

 

The Government does this because of the demonstrated loss of precious life without these items

 

The same Government then hypocritically implies that if you decide to ride a motor bike, you can dispense with these items.

 

Leaving the bikes for a minute, you can argue that cars travel much closer together and are packed much more densely, so the chance of collision is much higher.

 

By comparison, and aircraft built and maintained to regulations, and flown by someone who follows all safety procedures is much less likely to be involved in a collision, and in fact the actions taken to avoid incidents which might lead to a collision are more likely to reduce injuries and fatalilties.