Aircraft Wiring
In “Top Ten Wiring Mistakes” [February 2016], I did not see mention of an insidious pitfall/failure I have come across involving soldering and crimping.
If you “tin” a stranded wire and crimp a lug to it, the electrical connection, especially those carrying 5 amps or more of current in properly sized wire, may fail via high resistance and heating of the “crimped” junction. This could lead to equipment failure and possibly to fire. The failure is caused by lead/solder “cold-flowing” after the crimp, physically loosening the crimped electrical connection. This pitfall is aggravated by heat and mechanical vibrations.
A mechanical crimp with tinned stranded wires may not fail, but when life and limb are at risk, one ought never take the chance. I never crimp a lug on a tinned wire.
–David Benedict
Marc Ausman responds: Good point. I’ll be sure to include this in a future release of the book.
Fellow Traveler
I just finished reading Kerry Fores’ article, “On a Wing and a Whim” in the January 2016 issue. It was a refreshing approach to what is normally found in aviation magazines. There was no bravado, no exciting situations, nor exclamations of piloting skill. It was simply a pleasant solo flight by a man in the process of shaking the past and creating a new memory.
Kerry’s flight was a contradiction to the way most of us fly; he had no set plan, schedule, or specific destination. He just needed something meaningful to do and have solace with himself. Having seen Mental Illness at AirVenture several years ago, it was nice to reconnect with the plane and now to have some understanding of the pilot. Best wishes on Kerry’s future flights, and perhaps some day, the right seat will be occupied with a spirit similar to his.
–Paul D. Fiebich
Tube Notching
Since my article appeared in KITPLANES [“Tube-Notching Made Easy,” April 2015], software developer L.B. Corney of Dog Feather Design has created a new tube-notching program that is much more capable than other programs currently available. Here’s a link: http://dogfeatherdesign.com/ttn_js.
–Jeff Point
One More Turbine
First, I would like to thank you for covering the PBS TP 100 engine in your June 2015 issue [“Turbine-Powered RV-10”]. However, I would like to point out that the engine wasn’t mentioned in the February 2016 Engine Buyer’s Guide.
The TP 100 now has 200 hours of flawless flight time plus countless hours of testing at the factory. It has been available for sale for the last two years, and several engines are presently installed in other projects.
–Christian Skoppe
Turbine Solution Group, Inc.
We regret that we missed listing the turboprop from PBS—especially since we liked it in the RV-10. Do you know of an engine that we missed in our Buyer’s Guide this year? Please let us know so that we can add it to our database.—Ed.
Write to editorial@kitplanes.com.
