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To fiddle or not to fiddle . . .

Subject: To fiddle or not to fiddle . . .
From: Robert L. Nuckolls III <RNuckolls@compuserve.com>
Date: Wed, 4 Jun 1997 11:04:50
 /I have been watching this thread for a while.  

 /One Comment

 /Any time a designer or tech tries to limit a pilots 
 /options to fit HIS idea of what should happen I do 
 /not want to fly the aiplane. No manufacturer has 
 /used fuses in an airplane since the fifties or early 
 /sixties, producing an airplane using them is about as 
 /smart  as  going back to the Model "T"  spark coil 
 /ignition. Further installing them so that the pilot 
 /can not change them in flight is downright dangerous. 

  I'd say that it depends on what you're trying to limit.
  Options or workloads.  May I recommend a book called
  "The Naked Pilot" by David Beaty.  This book and others
  is a documentation of facts surrounding a series of
  serious accidents. All were ultimately chalked up to
  "pilot error" but the book points out how easy it is
  to become locked into a mindset that defies all logic
  and explanation.

  Airlines don't permit most crews to mess with the
  breakers except "critical to flight" and then reset
  only one time. I'll suggest that it's advantageous to
  make sure that your critical systems are backed up,
  not made "repairable" in flight. The fuses we're speaking
  about have evolved a great deal since the sixties . . 
  it's not a regression to consider using them again.

 ----------------------------------------------
 Another response received on the same subject:
 ----------------------------------------------

 >All you say may be right, Bob, but you are bordering on flaming.
 >It smacks of "I am the only one here who can be right".  If you 
 >want to keep credibility, and I have enough background to believe 
 >that you usually are right, you need to tone down the innuendo 
 >so that you are effective in communicating.

  I was afraid some folk would take the "my mind's made up"
  message the wrong way.  My point is simply this:  To this date,
  ALL of the contrary responses received this subject have
  contained no data. I've not and never will flame anyone or
  anything but I will sometimes show my frustration with the
  the lack of critical dialog on the subject.  I'm inviting 
  you all to participate in the same kind of critical design
  review I enjoy with my peers in my professional capacity.
  My critical assessment of the advertisement for the EXP-Bus
  was that it saves neither time, weight, dollars nor does it add any
  level of safety over other circuit protection methods and
  I explained why I thought so.  To date, there have been
  many proponents of the product jump up and recommend the device
  but not one has shown where my assertions were wrong.

  The banner in my signature file is no attempt at tongue-in-
  cheek humor; I'm serious.  The list-server is just a communications
  tool . . . it can spread the good, the indifferent and the ugly.
  It's only through reasoned dialog that the good stuff can
  be sorted out from the rest. In the final analysis, one
  may always build their airplane any way they please but when
  someone asks for advice, advisors owe it to the advisee to
  impart as much understanding as possible.

    Regards,

    Bob . . . 
    AeroElectric Connection
                   ////
                  (o o)
    oOOo(_)oOOo
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