Top Letters And Comments, August 2, 2019
This week’s letters brought comments from readers about the Boeing 737 MAX, hacking risks associated with GA aircraft, the Electrolite electric ultralight and interesting aircraft at AirVenture.
Image: Boeing
Boeing 737 MAX
Has anyone questioned Boeing, if the MCAS was never installed in the Max, would the aircraft still have been safe to fly? My goodness, how have thousands pilots around the world logged millions of flight hours without stalling an aircraft in the past? This entire Max story is a frustrating and needless joke. Boeing and the FAA are BOTH guilty of bad decision making, NO MATTER WHAT THE OUTCOME IS.
Jeff L.
GA At Risk For Hacking
What is the risk here? If this hypothetical hacker wants to hurt the plane or crew they could just as easily contaminate the fuel, damage a tire, or any number of other things that DON’T involve sitting in the cockpit with a laptop trying to hack the CANBUS while the battery drains. And using the hacked avionics to somehow spoof where the aircraft goes or what it does seems laughably far-fetched.
Nathan V.
Electrolite Electric Ultralight To Offer Remote Piloting
Thanks for the Electrolite coverage. Very well done. I probably didn't mention that the fly-by-wire system includes an autopilot with envelope protection. So both the ground instructor and the student pilot are flying by joy stick. The autopilot will limit the bank and pitch to our settings. Plus, it will return-to-base for landing autonomously if needed.
The motor power is 35kw which we govern to about 50% maximum for take-off which would be 25hp then cruise at about 20% of the motor power. This results in our 1-hour endurance and gives us a lower prop RPM. No point in a quiet electric motor with props screaming at 9k RPM in my opinion.
The Electrolite is designed by my company: Aeromarine LSA.
Chip Erwin
What Was The Most Interesting Aircraft At AirVenture?
63% of survey respondents said that it was the XP82 Twin Mustang followed by the UPS 747 (10%), F-22 (9%), and F-35 (6%). Here are some of the others that caught peoples’ attention:
- Larger single-engine PT-6 powered homebuilt taildragger
- Anonymous
- Warthog
- Nanchang CJ-6
- Mosquito
- SubSonix
- Fairey Firefly
- High wing Sling 4 TSi
- Vari Viggen
- Harrier
- Texas Aircraft Colt S-LSA
- Supermarine Spitfire
- RV-5
- Stinson Trimotor Model A
- C5
- Sasquatch
- DC-3
- B-29
- Piper J-3
- Luscombe 4
- Yak 110
- Michael Goulian’s Edge 540
- NOAA Lockheed Hurricane Hunter
- C-47 That's All Brother
- SkyLab Electric
- Draco
- My aircraft :)
- Sopwith Strutter reproduction
- United 787
- F-9
- A10
- Starship
- Wilga Straga
- P-64
- Synergy
- Waco YM5
- Flight Design F2e
- BlackFly
- Tarragon
Since I didn't get to attend, I'm basing my opinion on what I saw through press coverage. What caught my interest the most perhaps was the announcement of the Sonex JSX-2T 2-place jet kitplane. I also find the 4-place Sling TSi and its flight from Torrance to Oshkosh at altitudes up to FL270 quite intriguing.
Anonymous
