Recent content by Ron Wanttaja

I forwarded the article to one of my fellow retirees, who worked propulsion through his entire career, including developing electronic propulsion. His comment echoed the classic, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof." He says these have come up over the years, but none of them...

Rather stupidly written. Propulsion systems don't produce "Gs" of thrust. pounds of thrust, gram-force of thrust, newtons of thrust, yeah, but not "one Earth gravity of thrust". THAT depends on the mass of the object it is trying to propel. In the text of the article, it mentions that the...

Extralegal entities like the Mafia are one thing...a (nominal) legitimate business is entirely another. Not saying they COULDN'T find a pro, but they're far more likely to come up with someone who botches the job or spills the beans as soon as the cops start questioning them. Way, WAY more...

I wrote that 20 years ago, but I think my intent was to say that owners of Experimental aircraft could buy the starter without an STC, but owners of a certified aircraft aircraft would have to buy the STC version. Ron Wanttaja

There's no financial advantage for private industry; it's not like there's a profit to be made. It's not like European countries swarming over the New World in the 1500s to the 1700s...no gold, no silver, no way to make exploration pay. Spain's *entire* economy was propped up by the gold...

Thinking waaay back, I think the predicted loss rate for the Space Shuttle was higher than what actually happened. We're certainly risk averse, probably very much due to the low casualty rate in the first ~25 years of US manned space operations. Wasn't until Challenger that we lost crew during...

We can complain about TSA's complicity in this, but please note that the person made it past the gate agents to board the aircraft. The gate agents are controlled by the airline, not the government. I want to know how TSA failed, sure, but really want to know how she waltzed past the gate...

Up to ten years. My last car battery went six. Still was starting the car, but the computer didn't like it. Seattle area, very mild weather. Ron Wanttaja

Guy in the next hangar is an airline A&P. He was like the aliens in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" when he saw zip-ties on the engine side of the firewall.... Ron Wanttaja

Wasn't a brand-new airplane like the Max door-plug aircraft; more likely a Virgin maintenance issue that could happen to any brand. Ron Wanttaja

It's like a bank robber complaining that the cops drove the wrong way on a one-way street on the way to arrest him. Some of these people either are defrauding the Government (e.g., getting paid for a disability that doesn't actually disable them) or committing perjury (lying on their medical...

I find MMO keeps the elephants from my hangar. Good enough for me! :) Actually, my first A&P in the Fly Baby world had gotten his start at Northwest Airlines, keeping the Constellations flying. He recommended MMO in the Fly Baby, and I've been using it since. Ron Wanttaja

Can't afford that...does that mean I can't live anymore? But if you're asking if $10.7 million in OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY to save my life is worth it, then the answer is a resounding "yes." Kinda like how I was forced to put a quarter of the value of my plane into equipment that makes other...

I've heard (and would be interested in any reference to confirm) that when medical requirement were instituted by the Department of Commerce in the '20s and '30s, the purpose was to identify pilots who would be medically fit to become Army or Navy pilots in a national emergency. Made sense in...

Having floats <> Being able to land anywhere on the water. Floats lets planes land in relatively calm waters like lakes and bays. They aren't really suitable for open-ocean landings, depending on the wave heights. Even the big flying boats generally didn't land in open waters; some examples...