Re: FAA To Finally Ditch Floppy Disks & Win-95

On 6/17/25 2:20 PM, Charlie Gibbs wrote:

On 2025-06-17, c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
 

On 6/16/25 1:52 PM, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
>

Yesterday I felt a something catching while moving the controls
in our small plane.  I found that various bits of plumbing
behind the panel had shifted to where they were touching things
they shouldn't.  Time to get out those good old nylon zap straps
and tie things back where they belong, just like the mechanics do.
Mind you, we don't get much above 10,000 feet...

>
    Always MANY failure modes alas ...
>
    However AIRLINE corps are SUPPOSED to keep abreast
    and ahead of these issues.

 <cough>Boeing<cough>
 

    About the time I quit flying was during a huge OPEC
    oil embargo. Fuel prices quadrupled or more and too
    often you couldn't even GET the right fuel for the
    planes. Valve lock in a 4-cyl engine - NOT good.
    Green gas was NOT red gas !

 And now it's replaced by blue gas - 100LL (low lead).
Much less lead than good old green gas (100/130), but
still three times as much as in the red gas (80/87)
that a lot of engines were designed for.  Beware of
lead fouling the plugs!

   In the 70s, engines made for Red did NOT take
   well to 100LL. It was both ignition and
   especially the VALVES. KEPT having valves
   stick ... NOT good. Besides, oil embargoes
   drove fuel prices through the roof - could
   NOT afford it then.

    I hear they've now recovered both boxes from the
    crashed plane. In maybe a week we'll at least get
    a preliminary report.

 That'll be good to hear.  Until then, it's just ignorant
talking heads on the news, with nothing to fill their
time slot but idle speculation and improvised crap.

   Well, for now, everyone is SPECULATING. Some of
   it is more informed speculation, but it's still
   speculation.
   We will likely get at least some preliminary info
   from the boxes late this week.
   I still suspect some system/software glitch, but
   that's still speculation. All we've got is the
   pilot saying he could not get enough power. Those
   jets have LOTS of power ... that shouldn't have
   happened.

    SEEMS like some kind of software error - the big
    engines just wouldn't produce the needed power.
    The pilots didn't have enough time to maybe fix it.
>
    Boom.
>
    Dunno what gods the one survivor prays to - but  :-)

 That was pretty amazing.  I bet the seat he was sitting in
(well, one in the same position) will command a hefty premium
on future 787 flights.

   11-A ... the Magic Seat ... expect double the price,
   auctions, bidding  :-)
   The guy IS built like a weight-lifter, probably helped.
   Today's report - he actually tried to walk back into
   the disaster to find his brother.