Finally: The right-sized Thielert

In article ,
Dylan Smith wrote:

What's the reliability of software?

For embedded stuff, seemingly much better. Let's compare like with like:
old cars vs new cars. My first car had completely mechanical engine
components - mechanical points and condenser, vacuum advance etc. It
needed a great deal of maintenance to get any kind of reliability. It
was hard to start on cold, damp days.

In many ways, it was comparable to many aviation engines - high
maintenance and fiddly operation. Consider hot starts on even a brand
new Lycoming fuel injected engine - it needs a different procedure to a
cold start.

I don't consider my lycoming to be high maintenance. And it's dirt simple
to work on.


My current car's engine is completely electronically controlled. It
doesn't need frequent tune ups, lots of maintenance - basically, just
oil and filters. It starts just as well on a warm dry day as on a cold
damp day. It doesn't suddenly quit because something backed off and got
loose on an ignition component. It is so much more consistent than the
old completely mechanical engine as well as much more reliable. Not to
mention a great deal more fuel efficient and more powerful.

How much of the apparent improved reliability is due to improved hardware and
how much is due to software control?

btw - I've had two incidents where the engine in my car died. One was a failure
of the timing belt (rubber belt, believe it or not), and one was a failure of
the electronic control module. While the ECM was a hardware failure, it would
not be required in my first car which was entirely analog/mechanical.

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate