light aircraft engines
As a non-pilot, I read so much in these pages about engine failures, accidents and near-accidents in light aircraft due to such things as carburettor icing, lean or rich mixture, plug fouling, poor power output etc. All of these were also common in car engines in the 1960's or 70's but are almost unheard of in modern cars, which are very reliable, and mostly have fuel injection and often turbos as standard, as well as plenty of automatic control over adjustments for temperature and air density. Given the negative consequences of engine failure in the air are far greater than in a car, why is it that so many relatively modern light aircraft apparently have such antiquated power plants, and require so much manual adjustment and control? Obviously, historic aircraft are a different matter, but updated engines with modern automation etc would reduce the pilots workload and improve reliability and safety enormously. (forgive my ignorance)