Hey Valin & Allyson,

I have to put a plug in for your rudder pedals, they are a fantastic piece of engineering and are very smooth and easy to install.  I really like them, can’t wait to start flying with them.

This is just my opinion and m own personal point of view, but I look around and see lots of airplanes flying just fine w/o an engine fire suppression system.  We have been recently saddened by the loss of one of our own to an in flight engine fire, and I think I remember seeing some pictures of a 360 (I believe) that was a total loss because of an engine fire.  I think about how terrifying that would be to realize your engine is on fire during flight and I understand the desire to have such a system.

I wonder though if good maintenance practices aren’t sufficient to ward off such catastrophes.  While I don’t think we fully know how the recent in-flight fire was started, there was at least one suggestion made (for example) to reduce one source of such a problem (a restrictor fitting for where the oil pressure sensor hose is connected).

That is just one, but it is my own opinion that locating the source of such fires and insuring good installation techniques and proper preventative maintenance is sufficient in preventing a disaster such as this.  It may sound silly that I would be trying to talk you out of this, but the Legacy isn’t that big of an airplane and keeping weight and complexity down is beneficial.  I’ve thought about this as well, and it just seems to me that there aren’t really that many sources of fuel for an engine fire and for me, the risk is manageable and acceptable with proper maintenance.  It’s my opinion that relying on proper maintenance will make a more enjoyable airplane in the long term.

Good luck, and thanks for your hard work at NASA, I love what you guys do.

Kevin

From: Lancair Mailing List [mailto:lml@lancaironline.net] On Behalf Of Valin & Allyson Thorn
Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 6:19 AM
To: lml@lancaironline.net
Subject: [LML] In Flight Engine Fire Extinguishers