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The problem with split rim truck wheels was that when they failed, usually
innocent pedestrians or motorists were the ones killed. Had the wheel makers Murphy-proofed their products or made them universally interchangeable, and if truck tire personnel were required to be a grade above the epsilon minuses usually in that position, the problem would not have existed. But it did, because that's the customer base they sold to. The courts made the manufacture of split rim wheels economically untenable and one piece wheels became the standard. Of course, since there is no way for the five to ten people every year who would have been killed if the use of split rims continued to be identified, the courts and trial lawyers can't claim credit very easily. Wichita made an airplane-in the case of the heavy singles and light twins that racked up most of the judgments and settlements-that the customer base-people with money and usually dismally trained-were not capable of handling. It had characteristics that were suitable for day VFR use but which made IFR and night VFR operations by minimally trained owners, most of whom did not fly enough hours to remain current, a marginal proposition. Research in the 1960s proved single pilot IFR operations required a major workload reduction from the WWII-era instrumented and configured aircraft. Single lever power control, the drum-pointer altimeter, an alternate attitude and heading indicator (no 'needle ball and alcohol': that's for black and white war movies) and avionics easily operable without looking down on approach were indicated. The military in fact revised both the cockpit layout and its approach procedures after spates of Sabre and T-33 crashes in the 1950s. Wichita ignored all this. Its only response when we started suing them was to 'shoot, shovel,and shut up' and buy more liability insurance coverage. Looking back, although it made my family a lot of money, product liability insurance is like heroin. It doesn't fix the problem, it just numbs the user to it. Outlawing liability insurance might be a good idea, even though it would make me change careers. Harley-Davidson motorcycles are more dangerous than any airplane, and they are still made in America by a profitable company that is the antithesis of judgment-proof. With the exception of the federal statute of limitations , the liability laws are the same for H-D as Cessna, Piper, and Beech. The real reason recip-engine singles are no longer produced is not product liability, in any case. It's the great profitability of corporate jet manufacture, which uses the same floor space and workforce to make a product with unequalled profit margins once the certification and tooling costs are paid for. The high cost of type certification and widespread abuse of Experimental/Amateur-Built provisions are what deters interest in new personal aircraft startups. |
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