Originally Posted by
lomapaseo
That's like adding floor lamps in your room to offset any bulbs that may burn out. In the end you would be tripping over all the wires wondering which lamp they go. I shudder to think about the same mess of wires in a plane
Pretty sure that something like "mess of wires" was what I thought on seeing an aircraft wiring loom (in construction) for the first time
Up close of course it isn't a mess, it's all neat and labelled etc., but first sight it's like a giant spaghetti monster had a multicoloured yawn, with lumps in.
But if we're doing multiple secondary flight recorders, why not go wireless? Makes retrofit feasible too - one wireless transmitter at the existing DAU, possibly some relay transmitters, and multiple receiver-CSMU units. Storage capacity and size won't be a problem - we're heading towards a terabyte on a single micro SD - crash survivability will need some work but it should be much easier to make small things survivable.
The really big question isn't can we do it, it is why? With the existing system the number of accidents where we find the aircraft but don't find the recorders really is minimal, the benefit side of the equation just isn't going to justify the costs. I do have to admit to thinking more than once that the airbus composite fins would be an excellent place for a secondary CSMU - they do seem to have a detaching, surviving and floating capability already built in.