Video clip from the Sunship Game

John Cochrane wrote:
Gliders evolved and Cessna's remained dinosaurs. I think we have
racing to thank for that. Racing improves the breed.
Yeah, but that doesn't account for the fact that the cars in the movie
have evolved too. The single engine airplane (and light twin) world is
still mucking with fuel mixtures, prop speeds, cowl flaps, manual waste
gates, and the like. Gimme a break!


What we have to thank for that is the wonders of government "safety"
regulation. Car engines and parts are much more reliable than aviation
engines, which are stuck in 1950s -- but "certified" technology. It's
not worth it to certify new designs so we get stuck with the old ones.
Ultralights and light sport seem finally to be using modern technology
-- because they don't have to spend a million bucks certifying it with
the FAA.


There are some hopeful signs in this direction. The general aviation
press is starting to talk about FADEC
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FADEC) retrofits for the general aviation
airplane engine. If, as is likely, 100LL fuel is to disappear, the
larger engines will require some type of electronic engine control. Off
topic, I know, sorry.

Tony, LS6-b "6N"

In article TonyV writes:

There are some hopeful signs in this direction. The general aviation
press is starting to talk about FADEC
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FADEC) retrofits for the general aviation
airplane engine. If, as is likely, 100LL fuel is to disappear, the
larger engines will require some type of electronic engine control. Off
topic, I know, sorry.

And we will probably lose a bunch of the GA fleet with engines that cannot
be modified at an affordable price. This will probably include a lot of tow
planes. The others will need to pay for the new engine or new engine controls,
and you can expect that to add to the price of tows.

As long as they last, the dinosaurs are doing the job. 30 years ago the
Cessna could haul me 400 miles each way for a weekend without a problem.
Nowdays it still can (except for the frightening price of fuel to do the
trip). For that purpose, the glider has not caught up.

Alan

In article John Cochrane writes:

What we have to thank for that is the wonders of government "safety"
regulation. Car engines and parts are much more reliable than aviation
engines, which are stuck in 1950s -- but "certified" technology. It's
not worth it to certify new designs so we get stuck with the old ones.

Cars have been forced into modern ages by government safety requirements,
by government emissions reqirements, and a host of other non-market-driven
reqirements.

Market competition, drove some other development.

But, aircraft are stuck with FAA certification.

So government regulation has helped cars, but hindered aircraft. It sounds
strange, but is probably true.


Ultralights and light sport seem finally to be using modern technology
-- because they don't have to spend a million bucks certifying it with
the FAA.

But the Light Sport still suffer from nasty requirements relative to
modifications. You can't just get a 337 for a modification, it has to
be approved as an approved option by the manufacturer.


John Cochrane


Even with all the age of aircraft technology, I don't think that is
what has been killing general aviation. In fact, continuing to use the
older equipment has probably prevented total collapse. With the cost of
purchasing and operating newer aircraft, the old stuff looks pretty good.

Once we are there, we see avgas at $5/gal and up, and look at the fuel
consumption of the 172 at about 9 g/h = $45/hour just for fuel.

More cost, less fun. And one wonders why the airports seem devoid of
activity...


Alan

"Alan" wrote in message
...
In article TonyV
writes:

There are some hopeful signs in this direction. The general aviation
press is starting to talk about FADEC
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FADEC) retrofits for the general aviation
airplane engine. If, as is likely, 100LL fuel is to disappear, the
larger engines will require some type of electronic engine control. Off
topic, I know, sorry.

And we will probably lose a bunch of the GA fleet with engines that
cannot
be modified at an affordable price. This will probably include a lot of
tow
planes. The others will need to pay for the new engine or new engine
controls,
and you can expect that to add to the price of tows.

As long as they last, the dinosaurs are doing the job. 30 years ago the
Cessna could haul me 400 miles each way for a weekend without a problem.
Nowdays it still can (except for the frightening price of fuel to do the
trip). For that purpose, the glider has not caught up.

Alan

My club's Pawnee runs on autogas, and I suspect so do a lot of others.

Bob McKellar

On Aug 21, 6:22*am, "Bob McKellar" wrote:
"Alan" wrote in message

...



In article TonyV
writes:

There are some hopeful signs in this direction. The general aviation
press is starting to talk about FADEC
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FADEC) retrofits for the general aviation
airplane engine. If, as is likely, 100LL fuel is to disappear, the
larger engines will require some type of electronic engine control. Off
topic, I know, sorry.

*And we will probably lose a bunch of the GA fleet with engines that
cannot
be modified at an affordable price. *This will probably include a lot of
tow
planes. *The others will need to pay for the new engine or new engine
controls,
and you can expect that to add to the price of tows.

*As long as they last, the dinosaurs are doing the job. *30 years ago the
Cessna could haul me 400 miles each way for a weekend without a problem..
Nowdays it still can (except for the frightening price of fuel to do the
trip). *For that purpose, the glider has not caught up.

Alan

My club's Pawnee runs on autogas, and I suspect so do a lot of others.

Bob McKellar

Not if it's a D model.

Frank Whiteley