---------------------------------------------------------- Europa-List Digest Archive --- Total Messages Posted Fri 06/18/10: 14 ---------------------------------------------------------- Today's Message Index: ---------------------- 1. 12:38 AM - Re: Relay to act as kill switch (GRAHAM SINGLETON) 2. 01:04 AM - Re: The Europa(e) Hall in TheEFTP Finland (Duncan & Ami McFadyean) 3. 03:44 AM - Re: Relay to act as kill switch (Greg Fuchs) 4. 05:03 AM - Re: Relay to act as kill switch (Frans Veldman) 5. 06:56 AM - Re: Relay to act as kill switch (Frans Veldman) 6. 07:01 AM - Re: Re: Rough River last year (jimpuglise@comcast.net) 7. 11:45 AM - Re: Relay to act as kill switch (Greg Fuchs) 8. 12:55 PM - Re: Relay to act as kill switch (Greg Fuchs) 9. 12:55 PM - Re: Relay to act as kill switch (Frans Veldman) 10. 01:04 PM - Re: The Europa(e) Hall in TheEFTP Finland (Frans Veldman) 11. 03:25 PM - Rope acting as kill switch. (Tony Renshaw) 12. 03:25 PM - Re: Relay to act as kill switch (Greg Fuchs) 13. 04:21 PM - Re: Rope acting as kill switch. (craig bastin) 14. 11:52 PM - Re: Rope acting as kill switch. (Greg Fuchs) ________________________________ Message 1 _____________________________________ Time: 12:38:56 AM PST US From: GRAHAM SINGLETON Subject: Re: Europa-List: Relay to act as kill switch Tony=0Ayou must have a large capacitor across the battery to prevent the al ternator going over voltage=0AGraham=0A=0A=0A=0A=0A________________________ ________=0AFrom: Tony Renshaw =0ATo: europa-list@ matronics.com=0ASent: Friday, 18 June, 2010 5:30:49=0ASubject: Europa-List: enshaw =0A=0AGidday,=0AI am electron averse. They take on personalities whenever I interact, and most often I think they are female. Suffice to say, they do what they want to, and change their minds! So, I'd like to kill them off from my aft mounted battery. I am planning a kill switch in the passenger headrest area, but was wondering running a si ngle Rotax alternator if anyone has advice on whether I could run a "relay" that would isolate the large battery voltage with a small charge via a pan el mounted switch? Rather than a big kill switch like the great one Bob Bor ger is using from Flaming River=0Ahttp://www.flamingriver.com/index.cfm/pag e/ptype=product/product_id=64/category_id=133/home_id=231/mode=pr od/prd64.htm=0Ais there another way of achieving this same goal? I suppose in the case of a crash it would mean that you would have voltage still comi ng forward of the relay to the switch, on the panel, but it would be small and could be choked to be of low amperage? couldn't it? That way a short wo uld kill a fuse and not create a large spark as a source of ignition. Would it be possible then to wire the relay such that when it was isolated, it w ould also turn off the power forward of it to operate the relay too, so tha t there would be "NO" power coming forward? I suppose then the switch would become useless at turning power back on, so maybe a relay could be used in another way? =0AIs there any point in being able to isolate....kill off al ternator voltage ?? I'm not sure if the Rotax alternator has an inbuilt fun ction or whether its voltage must be monitored by such a device if included , prior to the battery. Is this the right idea for setting up the alternato r circuit? =0AReg=0ATony Renshaw=0AP.S. I apologise if this is covered in t he manual, however I am away from the book for a few days with work, and am ==== ________________________________ Message 2 _____________________________________ Time: 01:04:38 AM PST US From: "Duncan & Ami McFadyean" Subject: Re: Europa-List: The Europa(e) Hall in TheEFTP Finland Looks very nice. You may need to do something about the invasive weed in the foreground of your photo! (Himalayan Balsam, looks like) Duncan Mcf. ----- Original Message ----- From: Raimo Toivio To: europa-list@matronics.com Sent: Friday, June 18, 2010 1:39 AM Subject: Europa-List: The Europa(e) Hall in TheEFTP Finland Europa Community - All of You ! I wanna share this moment instantly with all of you around the globe. I am writing this time 0330 AM - I came just from The EFTP. Last time when I have been airborne and a pilot was 13th of November 2009. That was because OH-XRT (and many other poor planes here) lost her hangar space in The EFTP. That was a serious business! I decided to make my own hangar and I call it The Europa[e] Hall ! That is why I have been really busy during last weeks! It was completed tonight! Look at the attached photo! If you check it carefully, you will notice Europa=B4s official logo is slightly modified in this case! Inside - there is a little bar, grill, service shop, alarm, safety cams via internet recording ability, some aviation gizmos, nose artist girls and other necessary equipments. It=B4s size is just compact 9 x 12 m2. My wife certainly planted some rose bushes beside it! Because it is on a little hill, it is equipped also with an electric tow machine to pull RT inside (she is so fat lady that even for me it is almost too hard task to pull her inside manually). I trailered today OH-XRT from her home hangar from Lempaala to The EFTP and had also my first aviation session today. I was thrilled - I have been grounded over seven months. Could I fly any more (that wild tail wheeled mono)? Rotax fired upp immediately. Everything was ok. I taxied about 15 minutes and it felt so good! After I did some touch and goes and it felt also good or even better if possible. I did some of my best landings - Europa is really landable from the first touch to the final stop using less than 300 metres runway. After that I had a local flight 50 minutes. That seven months meant nothing - I felt as I had been airborne yesterday. Obviously flying Europa has gone to my backbone and more or less to my ass too! I feel COMPLETELY happy now! You there around the globe and still building: build it fast - just do it and complete it ! What sooner that better - it is really worth of it! Terveisin, Raimo Toivio (v=E4h=E4n mopo nyt keulii mutta antaa sen keulia) Europa XS Mono OH-XRT #417 155.10 hrs and 315 happy landings! 37500 Lempaala FINLAND p +358-3-3753 777 f +358-3-3753 100 toivio@fly.to www.rwm.fi ________________________________ Message 3 _____________________________________ Time: 03:44:37 AM PST US From: "Greg Fuchs " Subject: RE: Europa-List: Relay to act as kill switch Hi Tony, Because of the high currents needed from the rear battery, one could substitute the relay with a solenoid of high amperage. Since it might be hard to find a non-expensive relay to do the same. If the solenoid needs a small amount of power on the coil to keep it on, then when you flip the switch, there would be no power from the battery, going forward, and no small amount of power from the panel to the solenoid (and no female-minded electrons running around :) ). I am not positive they exist, but you might be able to find a solenoid that will stay either on or off after the original signal to turn if off/on is taken away. I know there are small relays like this, there are probably solenoids this way too. If that is the case, then you could actuate the solenoid and take the original power away, when turning it off...or on. In the event of a crash, (unlike the previous solenoid, which is spring driven in one direction) the force could slide the internal bar in this 'noid' to the on position, so be careful to have the 'off' position on the side that it would slide to, if a crash happened. There is another option. Many/most? Fuel injected cars have a cut-off switch in the event of an impact. This is so, because the high pressure pumps would supply a lot of fuel to a fire, after the fuel lines were severed, which is almost guaranteed to happen in a high impact crash and metal fuel lines. This switch could be used to turn off pretty much whatever you like, and it would happen right at the moment of impact. I am not sure of their current rating right now, but they are pretty high, possibly even being capable of cutting power off to the entire vehicle. Might be worth looking into, since it kind of matches the application. They have a reset button on them, in the event that you want to turn them back on, and would be very cheap at a second-hand automotive recyclers (U-Pull-it, and such). As far as killing off alternator power, are you talking about in the event of a crash? If so, it would happen automatically if the engine were off, and not turning. Since we are all skilled pilots :) ), one might be able to assume that the engine was off, if we are going down. There are ways to short out the windings from the alternator, to keep the current looping from the output of the alternator, back into itself, which keep the voltage way down (along with a chance for a spark), but I am not sure if the complication is necessary or needed. Besides, it adds one more thing that can fail, and in the bad way of cutting off the alternator. Hit me with questions if you like, otherwise...I hope this helps a bit. Greg Fuchs A050 --> Gidday, I am electron averse. They take on personalities whenever I interact, and most often I think they are female. Suffice to say, they do what they want to, and change their minds! So, I'd like to kill them off from my aft mounted battery. I am planning a kill switch in the passenger headrest area, but was wondering running a single Rotax alternator if anyone has advice on whether I could run a "relay" that would isolate the large battery voltage with a small charge via a panel mounted switch? Rather than a big kill switch like the great one Bob Borger is using from Flaming River http://www.flamingriver.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=64/categ ory_id=133/home_id=231/mode=prod/prd64.htm is there another way of achieving this same goal? I suppose in the case of a crash it would mean that you would have voltage still coming forward of the relay to the switch, on the panel, but it would be small and could be choked to be of low amperage? couldn't it? That way a short would kill a fuse and not create a large spark as a source of ignition. Would it be possible then to wire the relay such that when it was isolated, it would also turn off the power forward of it to operate the relay too, so that there would be "NO" power coming forward? I suppose then the switch would become useless at turning power back on, so maybe a relay could be used in another way? Is there any point in being able to isolate....kill off alternator voltage ?? I'm not sure if the Rotax alternator has an inbuilt function or whether its voltage must be monitored by such a device if included, prior to the battery. Is this the right idea for setting up the alternator circuit? Reg Tony Renshaw P.S. I apologise if this is covered in the manual, however I am away from the book for a few days with work, and am crunching away these ideas remotely. ________________________________ Message 4 _____________________________________ Time: 05:03:42 AM PST US From: Frans Veldman Subject: Re: Europa-List: Relay to act as kill switch On 06/18/2010 06:30 AM, Tony Renshaw wrote: > So, I'd like to > kill them off from my aft mounted battery. I am planning a kill > switch in the passenger headrest area, but was wondering running a > single Rotax alternator if anyone has advice on whether I could run a > "relay" that would isolate the large battery voltage with a small > charge via a panel mounted switch? What you could do: Mount a (car-style) relay (soleonid) of 40 Amps switching capacity next to the battery. This connects the system bus with the battery. This relay is activated by applying 12 Volts on its coil. The 12 Volt for this is taken separately via a small fuse (about 1 amp), fed to the switch on the instrument panel, and then to the coil. The switch is then used to power up/down the ship. This fuse should be mounted as closely as possible to the battery. This is a pretty normal way to control the system bus. So far so good. Now you add a separate KILL switch. This switch simply shorts the 12 Volt running to the power switch to ground. Throw this switch, and the 1 Amp fuse blows. After this has happened: 1) The power to the coil of the relay is gone. Thus the relay drops off and cuts the power to the ship. 2) The power to the power switch, which runs via the separate fuse, is gone too, as the fuse has melted. There is no wire left carrying any voltage anymore in the ship. 3) There is no way to power the ship up again. Power is permanently gone... until you replace the fuse. Needless to say that this KILL switch needs to be of a very good quality, and guarded by a mechanical latch. As with all protections, you introduce a small quantity of failure points as well. If the fuse inadvertently blows (they sometimes do), power to the ship is gone. If the KILL switch fails in the ON position, or is inadvertently switched ON, power is irreversibly gone too. Also, for this system to make sense, you should have no permanently powered items in your ship (like the manual recommends for the stall warner and vertical trim). Another thing you could do is to obtain an old fashioned ELT. They are scrap now 121.5 is no longer monitored by satellites. It should be possible to get them on eBay for scrap value. Go for the switch inside that activates by any (de)acceleration over 6G's, and use that one to blow your fuse automatically. Again, of course you introduce another failure point. Personally, I didn't go all this far. What I did is to feed the system bus via a car-style relay of 40 Amps mounted next to the read mounted battery. The relay is permanently connected to the +12Volt, as is its coil. The other end of the coil is connected via the system switch to ground. So, if the aircraft is powered down, the only voltage carrying wire is the wire to the switch... but it is connected to the 12 Volts with the coil of the relay in series with it. So, if this wire is shorted to ground, the only thing that will happen is that it activates the relay (which then powers up the ship). This is the worst that can happen. Reasons that I didn't go any further are: If you want to be sure that all spark-potential power is gone, you shouldn't bring laptops, mobile phones, camera's etc. with you. The modern lithium-ion batteries pretty much explode when they are shorted, which is likely to happen if they receive a dent or are ruptured, punctured or whatever during a crash. Even without power to the ship, it is likely that crashing will generated some sparks by its own, due to friction of metal parts. With the fuel tank behind your back, with its connections just 1 cm above the airplane bottom, it is unfortunate that a fire is very likely in a serious crash. I have been considering to make a fuel dump. A large valve to allow the fuel to escape while still being airborne. Without fuel, sparks are not dangerous anymore. Of course this makes only sense if you know the crash is going to happen (just like with the kill-switch) and you have the ship under control enough to make a controlled crash landing. Kill switches or fuel dumps are worthless of course if you are going to dive above Vne into the ground anyway. I didn't implement a fuel dump, as this would introduce a potential hazardous failure point in the fuel system. Imagine the fuel dump to activate inadvertently... What you should do in my opinion in case of a Rotax 914, is to have a one way valve in the fuel return line. If the engine breaks off the airplane, the tank can not syphon itself empty via the broken fuel return line. And of course, if you have to make a crash landing, but are able to delay the event, such as in case you left your gear behind on the runway, or your rudder cable broke, or your elevator is stuck at the 140 knots position, or whatever... you'd better fly your tank almost empty before attempting to land. So, in case of an anticipated crash landing, I will just close the fuel valve, throw the master switches, and go for the best. If the crash is severe enough that it ruptures the fuel tank, changes are that it wasn't a survivable crash anyway. Frans ________________________________ Message 5 _____________________________________ Time: 06:56:23 AM PST US From: Frans Veldman Subject: Re: Europa-List: Relay to act as kill switch On 06/18/2010 06:30 AM, Tony Renshaw wrote: > is there another way of achieving this same goal? I suppose in the case of a crash it would mean that you would have voltage still coming forward Thinking about it, and your electron aversion... Why not connect the battery via two plugs that can be pulled apart. Make a hatch below the battery, closed with a safety pin, connected to a rope leading into the cockpit. No fancy electrons needed. In an emergency, on final for your crash landing, pull the rope. The weight of the battery will for sure pull the plugs apart on its way out. Bye bye battery. Advantages: 1) No fuses, no switches, no wires, no relays, no mess. No female electrons to bug you during final on your crash landing. Just a rope and pin. People have relied on these for ages for various of purposes. Every mechanic understands how it works. 2) There is nothing to spark left, no relays that can switch on again due to the forces acting upon them, no battery that might get punctured by your elevator mass balance arm and emit a shower of sparks as a result, your knee can't bump into the master switch and power up the ship again during the most critical stage of the crash, everything with sparking ability is just simply dumped overboard. 3) The aft-mounted battery won't bump into your head, it is already gone. One thing less to worry about. 4) The reduce in weight might well be an advantage in getting the aircraft to a stop. The lighter the aircraft is, the less mass you have to decellerate. Just keep it simple. Of course you have to attach a red "for emergency use only" label to the rope and brief your passengers not to pull on it while asking "what is this for" when your are circling his home vilage. If you want to be fancy you cat attach a small parachute to the battery. This has the additional advantage that you can test the system overhead your airfield and it won't cost you a new battery. Frans ________________________________ Message 6 _____________________________________ Time: 07:01:14 AM PST US From: jimpuglise@comcast.net Subject: Re: Europa-List: Re: Rough River last year Jeff- I think there were about 50 from the Louisville Chapter and 8 Europa people .=C2- The Louisville people went out of their way to make us feel welcome .=C2- Very nice group of people.=C2- I think they had (maybe) 10 aircra ft in.=C2- One of the guys was balancing props in the afternoon and it wa s enjoyable to see done.=C2- In addition to a very nice dinner, they had a large number of door prizes, two of which are sitting on my desk.=C2- I think the rates they get are dependent on the number of people, so I think having us there worked out for them too.=C2- It would be nice to have it pure Europa, but due to the small numbers, this is a pretty nice solution if they want to do it that way again. Jim Puglise ----- Original Message ----- From: "JEFF ROBERTS" Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2010 11:36:44 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: Europa-List: Re: Rough River Troy & Fred, I understand your concern. I too would be worried about vacancy =C2- problems. I guess we need to call to see whats available. I think =C2- having the other chapter there could also be a positive because like =C2- last year they put on a nice presentation from lohley aircraft =C2- coatings so I heard. Having a larger group can attract something like =C2 - that. The best one we've had was the first year when all we did was =C2- fly and drink beer & wine? Not at the same time by the way;o) I will call on the dates to see what the situation looks like and =C2- report back ASAP. Also since I missed last year due to weather it =C2- would be nice to hear from those that we're there. How many planes and =C2 - people showed up from the Lousiville chapter and how did they respond =C2 - to our fly-in being the same week. I think I would rather be there =C2- with other pilots & builders of planes than be there with a bunch of =C2- boaters or golfers. Please no flaming from the boaters & golfers as I =C2 - enjoy both. Regards, Jeff R. =C2-N128LJ Gold Rush On Jun 16, 2010, at 9:38 PM, Troy Maynor wrote: > > > > Jeff, > Nothing against anyone personally, but I tend to agree with Fred. If =C2 - > good weather prevails, which we hope it does, it could get crowded =C2- > in the lodging and eating departments not to mention on the field. =C2- > Of course I like ALL airplanes not just Europas. Just an opinion, I =C2 - > will be there regardless. Hope to fly my own Europa there this time. > 20 hours and counting..... > Troy > > > > > Read this topic online here: > > http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=301499#301499 > > > > > > > > > > =========== =========== MS - =========== e - =C2- =C2- =C2- =C2- =C2--Matt Dralle, List Admin. =========== ________________________________ Message 7 _____________________________________ Time: 11:45:54 AM PST US From: "Greg Fuchs " Subject: RE: Europa-List: Relay to act as kill switch Just keep it simple. Of course you have to attach a red "for emergency use only" label to the rope and brief your passengers not to pull on it while asking "what is this for" when your are circling his home vilage. If you want to be fancy you cat attach a small parachute to the battery. This has the additional advantage that you can test the system overhead your airfield and it won't cost you a new battery. Frans _______________________________________ In keeping it simple, it is getting complex....and jovial. Maybe it's the fatigue of late night, and the mood is right. I am feeling somewhat fatigued myself, so to contribute to the comedy, here is my addition. Explosions can put out fires. Why not attatch a small thermonuclear device in the back, with a rope connected to the trigger. Then when things go bad, the explosion 'fixes' everything...and no chance of pain. Also, this way, there is nothing left to fall out of the sky, but little pieces of glass and ...ok one heavy engine, but that is all. Too jovial you say? All right, maybe I am a little too fatigued, and maybe a little light-headed too.........time to sleep and all will be better. Tomorrow will be back to business on the list Greg ________________________________ Message 8 _____________________________________ Time: 12:55:25 PM PST US From: "Greg Fuchs " Subject: RE: Europa-List: Relay to act as kill switch Hmmmm......this message took 4.5 hours to appear on the server, after it was sent. That is by far the longest I have ever seen. The previous message, sent just before it, only took a few minutes. I wonder why that is?(Thinking aloud) Do not archive -----Original Message----- From: owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com [mailto:owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of Greg Fuchs Sent: Friday, June 18, 2010 7:27 AM Subject: RE: Europa-List: Relay to act as kill switch --> ________________________________ Message 9 _____________________________________ Time: 12:55:25 PM PST US From: Frans Veldman Subject: Re: Europa-List: Relay to act as kill switch On 06/18/2010 04:27 PM, Greg Fuchs wrote: > Explosions can put out fires. That's right. And you can also use it to blow a hole in the fuel tank, if you need to empty it in a hurry. The Saturnus V rocket was already equipped with explosives, to separate the stages, to separate the service module from the command module, to release itself from the launch pad, and... to rip open the fuel tanks in case of an airborn abort. So, we should learn from that. If it is good enough for a Saturn V, it ought to be good enough for an Europa. I like the idea of ripping the fuel tank on final, and getting all gas out before "touching" the landing spot. "ATC, we have a problem..." Just make sure the switch is sufficiently latched against inadvertent use. Frans ________________________________ Message 10 ____________________________________ Time: 01:04:58 PM PST US From: Frans Veldman Subject: Re: Europa-List: The Europa(e) Hall in TheEFTP Finland On 06/18/2010 02:39 AM, Raimo Toivio wrote: > It was completed tonight! Look at the attached photo! If you check it > carefully, you will notice Europas official logo is slightly modified > in this case! Looks great! Did you make the picture tonight? Days must be quite long in your area around this time of the year! Is this located on the Tampere airfield? Great idea, I'm also thinking about making a new shelter for the trailered PH-DIY. Thought about wood, but this might be great a solution as well. ;-) > You there around the globe and still building: build it fast - just do > it and complete it ! What sooner that better - it is really worth of it! I must agree. 40 hours already and still counting. ;-) We are now looking forward to a small trip via Denmark to Sweden and Norway, to be undertaken as soon as the weather is nice (and as soon as we have worked out how to use the somewhat confusing Norwegian charts). Anyone suggestions for a trip like this? I noticed there is an island with a airfield between Denmark and Sweden. Is it worth a visit? We prefer a camping/hiking style of travelling. Frans ________________________________ Message 11 ____________________________________ Time: 03:25:11 PM PST US Subject: Europa-List: Rope acting as kill switch. From: Tony Renshaw Frans, I think for all the effort in getting the battery out, it might be better to get yourself out. Why not open the door which will no doubt tear off, and of course wearing a shute, jump clear? Now what we need to discuss is the most appropriate manoeuvre to put the a/c into so that when "we" depart the a/c, we don't hit the tail, or it doesn't hit us. I am suggesting an inverted bunt might be the best, but you need to remember to undo your belt before you do it. So, maybe we connect the rope that was to eject the battery to the door, and to the seat belt restraint? Then, when the door is opened it pulls the rope, which disables the seat belt attach? If the bunt became the manoeuvre of choice, we could harden up the system and make the rope attached to the door, undo the seatbelt restraint and also deploy a drogue chute in anticipation of the bunt manoeuvre? Of course that would only give you a minuscule amount of time in which to roll inverted and bunt, to spit you out before your drogue shute drags you through the aft part of the a/c, but, thats an incentive to get on with it, so no "chickening out". I reckon we can work more on this rope idea, for lots of other functionality. I suggest a rope thread. Reg late at night, too much soccer, and beer. I would have been OK had Frans not provoked me. ;-) On 18/06/2010, at 11:47 PM, Frans Veldman wrote: > > On 06/18/2010 06:30 AM, Tony Renshaw wrote: > >> is there another way of achieving this same goal? I suppose in the case of a crash it would mean that you would have voltage still coming forward > > Thinking about it, and your electron aversion... > Why not connect the battery via two plugs that can be pulled apart. > Make a hatch below the battery, closed with a safety pin, connected to a > rope leading into the cockpit. No fancy electrons needed. > > In an emergency, on final for your crash landing, pull the rope. The > weight of the battery will for sure pull the plugs apart on its way out. > Bye bye battery. > > Advantages: > 1) No fuses, no switches, no wires, no relays, no mess. No female > electrons to bug you during final on your crash landing. Just a rope and > pin. People have relied on these for ages for various of purposes. Every > mechanic understands how it works. > 2) There is nothing to spark left, no relays that can switch on again > due to the forces acting upon them, no battery that might get punctured > by your elevator mass balance arm and emit a shower of sparks as a > result, your knee can't bump into the master switch and power up the > ship again during the most critical stage of the crash, everything with > sparking ability is just simply dumped overboard. > 3) The aft-mounted battery won't bump into your head, it is already > gone. One thing less to worry about. > 4) The reduce in weight might well be an advantage in getting the > aircraft to a stop. The lighter the aircraft is, the less mass you have > to decellerate. > > Just keep it simple. > > Of course you have to attach a red "for emergency use only" label to the > rope and brief your passengers not to pull on it while asking "what is > this for" when your are circling his home vilage. If you want to be > fancy you cat attach a small parachute to the battery. This has the > additional advantage that you can test the system overhead your airfield > and it won't cost you a new battery. > > Frans > > > > > ________________________________ Message 12 ____________________________________ Time: 03:25:11 PM PST US From: "Greg Fuchs " Subject: RE: Europa-List: Relay to act as kill switch >Just make sure the switch is sufficiently latched against inadvertent use. For God sakes, yes!! >So, we should learn from that. If it is good enough for a Saturn V, it ought to be good enough for an Europa. I like the idea >of ripping the fuel tank on final, and getting all gas out before "touching" the landing spot. "ATC, we have a problem..." I think I just left matronics and turned on comedy central. You could be a stand-up comic too, along with all your other skills :) Maybe with a little more work, and a rocket, we could get our little Europas to fly us to the moon. I think that would make a great doth spot. Anyone want to go first? -----Original Message----- From: owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com [mailto:owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of Frans Veldman Sent: Friday, June 18, 2010 12:26 PM ________________________________ Message 13 ____________________________________ Time: 04:21:05 PM PST US From: "craig bastin" Subject: RE: Europa-List: Rope acting as kill switch. tony I dont know if you have read your off list email, but i sent you something last night which you migt find helpfull, I will add to it here on list how about a couple of 100 amp blade switches, one on the positive, one negative with a lock wire on each, and the deadman pull cord to pull the switches in an emergency. power consumption is zero, unlike a relay based solution, and is fairly well foolproof -----Original Message----- From: owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com [mailto:owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com]On Behalf Of Tony Renshaw Sent: Saturday, June 19, 2010 1:27 AM Subject: Europa-List: Rope acting as kill switch. Frans, I think for all the effort in getting the battery out, it might be better to get yourself out. Why not open the door which will no doubt tear off, and of course wearing a shute, jump clear? Now what we need to discuss is the most appropriate manoeuvre to put the a/c into so that when "we" depart the a/c, we don't hit the tail, or it doesn't hit us. I am suggesting an inverted bunt might be the best, but you need to remember to undo your belt before you do it. So, maybe we connect the rope that was to eject the battery to the door, and to the seat belt restraint? Then, when the door is opened it pulls the rope, which disables the seat belt attach? If the bunt became the manoeuvre of choice, we could harden up the system and make the rope attached to the door, undo the seatbelt restraint and also deploy a drogue chute in anticipation of the bunt manoeuvre? Of course that would only give you a minuscule amount of time in which to roll inverted and bunt, to spit you out before ! your drogue shute drags you through the aft part of the a/c, but, thats an incentive to get on with it, so no "chickening out". I reckon we can work more on this rope idea, for lots of other functionality. I suggest a rope thread. Reg late at night, too much soccer, and beer. I would have been OK had Frans not provoked me. ;-) On 18/06/2010, at 11:47 PM, Frans Veldman wrote: > > On 06/18/2010 06:30 AM, Tony Renshaw wrote: > >> is there another way of achieving this same goal? I suppose in the case of a crash it would mean that you would have voltage still coming forward > > Thinking about it, and your electron aversion... > Why not connect the battery via two plugs that can be pulled apart. > Make a hatch below the battery, closed with a safety pin, connected to a > rope leading into the cockpit. No fancy electrons needed. > > In an emergency, on final for your crash landing, pull the rope. The > weight of the battery will for sure pull the plugs apart on its way out. > Bye bye battery. > > Advantages: > 1) No fuses, no switches, no wires, no relays, no mess. No female > electrons to bug you during final on your crash landing. Just a rope and > pin. People have relied on these for ages for various of purposes. Every > mechanic understands how it works. > 2) There is nothing to spark left, no relays that can switch on again > due to the forces acting upon them, no battery that might get punctured > by your elevator mass balance arm and emit a shower of sparks as a > result, your knee can't bump into the master switch and power up the > ship again during the most critical stage of the crash, everything with > sparking ability is just simply dumped overboard. > 3) The aft-mounted battery won't bump into your head, it is already > gone. One thing less to worry about. > 4) The reduce in weight might well be an advantage in getting the > aircraft to a stop. The lighter the aircraft is, the less mass you have > to decellerate. > > Just keep it simple. > > Of course you have to attach a red "for emergency use only" label to the > rope and brief your passengers not to pull on it while asking "what is > this for" when your are circling his home vilage. If you want to be > fancy you cat attach a small parachute to the battery. This has the > additional advantage that you can test the system overhead your airfield > and it won't cost you a new battery. > > Frans > > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com 04:35:00 ________________________________ Message 14 ____________________________________ Time: 11:52:49 PM PST US From: "Greg Fuchs " Subject: RE: Europa-List: Rope acting as kill switch. Well thought out Tony. I like the lesson that teaches one to jump quickly, and without feint of heart. I hope your beer and soccer mixed ok ;). I tried to mix running and beer one time, thinking that the beer would kill the pain of the running, but it only made it much worse. Oh those College experiments! This rope thread sure has blossomed. Maybe we can use it to keep from hanging ourselves yet. Just one comment with Craig's dead man rope idea. You could cut the weight in half by using only one blade switch, since two is not necessary. Yes, it could be foolproof. Proof? I'd say about 200 proof oghter do it (hiccup). Greg -----Original Message----- From: owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com [mailto:owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of craig bastin Sent: Friday, June 18, 2010 4:26 PM Subject: RE: Europa-List: Rope acting as kill switch. --> tony I dont know if you have read your off list email, but i sent you something last night which you migt find helpfull, I will add to it here on list how about a couple of 100 amp blade switches, one on the positive, one negative with a lock wire on each, and the deadman pull cord to pull the switches in an emergency. power consumption is zero, unlike a relay based solution, and is fairly well foolproof -----Original Message----- From: owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com [mailto:owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com]On Behalf Of Tony Renshaw Sent: Saturday, June 19, 2010 1:27 AM Subject: Europa-List: Rope acting as kill switch. --> Frans, I think for all the effort in getting the battery out, it might be better to get yourself out. Why not open the door which will no doubt tear off, and of course wearing a shute, jump clear? Now what we need to discuss is the most appropriate manoeuvre to put the a/c into so that when "we" depart the a/c, we don't hit the tail, or it doesn't hit us. I am suggesting an inverted bunt might be the best, but you need to remember to undo your belt before you do it. So, maybe we connect the rope that was to eject the battery to the door, and to the seat belt restraint? Then, when the door is opened it pulls the rope, which disables the seat belt attach? If the bunt became the manoeuvre of choice, we could harden up the system and make the rope attached to the door, undo the seatbelt restraint and also deploy a drogue chute in anticipation of the bunt manoeuvre? Of course that would only give you a minuscule amount of time in which to roll inverted and bunt, to spit you out before ! your drogue shute drags you through the aft part of the a/c, but, thats an incentive to get on with it, so no "chickening out". I reckon we can work more on this rope idea, for lots of other functionality. I suggest a rope thread. Reg late at night, too much soccer, and beer. I would have been OK had Frans not provoked me. ;-) On 18/06/2010, at 11:47 PM, Frans Veldman wrote: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Matronics Email List Services ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post A New Message europa-list@matronics.com UN/SUBSCRIBE http://www.matronics.com/subscription List FAQ http://www.matronics.com/FAQ/Europa-List.htm Web Forum Interface To Lists http://forums.matronics.com Matronics List Wiki http://wiki.matronics.com Full Archive Search Engine http://www.matronics.com/search 7-Day List Browse http://www.matronics.com/browse/europa-list Browse Digests http://www.matronics.com/digest/europa-list Browse Other Lists http://www.matronics.com/browse Live Online Chat! http://www.matronics.com/chat Archive Downloading http://www.matronics.com/archives Photo Share http://www.matronics.com/photoshare Other Email Lists http://www.matronics.com/emaillists Contributions http://www.matronics.com/contribution ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These Email List Services are sponsored solely by Matronics and through the generous Contributions of its members.