Mailing List lml@lancaironline.net Message #20601
From: Brent Regan <brent@regandesigns.com>
Sender: Marvin Kaye <marv@lancaironline.net>
Subject: Another Brake Line Failure
Date: Sun, 21 Sep 2003 16:10:57 -0400
To: <lml>
"Watch out for that tree!" from George of the Jungle.

Jeff writes:
<<
Oh yes, I went off the runway at the Redmond fly in  with a brake failure a few weeks back <snip>  Brake line failed (nylaflow) inside gear leg. Tim Ong says there have been other failures and they are working on a fix. Would have been disastrous on a short runway with heavy braking on touchdown or a narrow runway with obstacles.
>>

No SH*T!

I have been saying it for 8 years and it is worth saying again. Aquarium tubing has no business being used to stop a $350,000 airplane traveling at 100 MPH with four souls on board. If you lifted the hood of your SUV and saw Nylaflow brake lines would you STILL hop in and take Billy and the twins to the soccer match? Heck, cars even have triple redundant braking systems. In our planes, the loss of EITHER brake will result in "El Pucker Grande".

A "fix" already exists and has existed since '95. D H Instruments hose assembly #  F3737-60  http://www.dhinstruments.com/prod1/ft.htm

"Oh but Brent, the DH lines are SO expensive!"

Builders have actually said this to me.

Gee, let me think, for the $200+ a set you would save you could buy 1/5 of a panel mounted CD player, 85 gallons of Avgas, a pair of crappy headphones, 4 spark plugs or one set of tires. I guarantee you this, nothing else you can buy for $200 will do you a damn bit of good as you reenact the "Evil Kinievel Ceasars Palace Fountain Jump Landing" after a 10 year old chunk of $0.11/foot plastic decides it doesn't want to keep doing something it was never designed to do in the first place.

The flight isn't over until the plane has stopped and all the passengers are safely out. "Stopped" is the operative word here, the one the FAA and your insurance company will be most interested in.

Winter is coming and it is a good time to put the plane on jacks and install something that will save your life at every landing.

Tim, Vern, Joe......you listening?

Regards
Brent Regan

BTW, I have absolutely no affiliation with D H Instruments.


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