On Fri, 24 Oct 2003 00:38:40 GMT, mike regish wrote:
How about one of those fan type generators you can lower into the
slipstream? Don't some airliners have something like that or is it just
something I saw in a movie?

I think they are called a 'ram air turbine'.

On the Diamond DA-40, with all electrical IFR instruments, there is a
battery backup for the AI which is totally separate from the normal
electrical buses (activated by a guarded switch). The backup is powered
by a pack of alkaline (Duracell) batteries (with expiry date), and IIRC,
lasts quite a long time if you need to use it.

I'd much rather have electric AI and DG and vacuum TC in the traditional
set-up. I've seen numerous vacuum failures, but in over 1000 hours of
flying I've yet to see an electrical failure where I've had no power
at all. I'd rather have the most useful instruments powered by the most
reliable source.o

--
Dylan Smith, Castletown, Isle of Man
Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net
Frontier Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net
"Maintain thine airspeed, lest the ground come up and smite thee"