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Hidden in the last
few posts has been a key insight that I would like to emphasize. It is often the
simple things that fail and take out far more than is
expected.
An example is the
brightness resistor in the EFIS system. Nobody ever thought it should be
redundant.
A example from my
personal history involves an avionics master switch in my Bonanza. The system
was dirt simple the avionics power was switched by a single 30 amp switch
type circuit breaker. (Not even a switch and remote relay as is typical.)
What happened was that the case of the breaker cracked and it no longer
conducted electricity. All the avionics went dark. Happened in flight. The
weather was good VFR and I simply flew home. I solved the problem in the Bonanza
by adding a second breaker in parallel with an operational note to turn on only
one at a time.
How many of us have
an avionics master system that if it fails will take out way too
much?
How about the panel
master switch? In my Certified Bonanza there is such a switch that can take down
all the electrons. With vacuum gyros this is probably OK.
In my IV-P I had
such a contactor, it is an all electric airplane. Having been burned once I
now have two contactors that operate in parallel. The two panel split rocker
switches that control the two alternators control the master contactors
independently.
How does the
Avionics master switch work in your plane? What happens if something simple
happens like the control wire breaks.
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