Seriously now, I guess we can safely say that all that is certified is not necessarily perfect. So, I ask again, why - in simple terms - is it safe to arm the floats at 155 kts?
Could possibly be for the same reason the blades don't fall off, the wheels don't fall off and the windows don't fall out...oh no I'd better not use that one. But seriously, the float system logic circuits must be pretty good and, at least in theory, 100% reliable. None has failed thus far so why the apprehension? You are reading across other electrical failures and computer glitches that are unrelated and irrelevant. The inadvertant inflation was almost certainly down to the test circuit on one ship malfunctioning. Nothing to do with the activation circuit.
You know that a blade failed on a 76 a while back but we were told by those that are supposed to know that no fleetwide grounding was necessary and we just got on with it. I could list the same type of story about Dauphin fenestrons, 332 gearboxes, 332 controls, S92 Tail Rotors. None of these incidents stopped the pilots getting into their machines the next day and getting on with the job....... and these were real-live incidents.
So now - with no evidence you want to compromise the very basic principles of having an automatic system.
If an uncommanded inflation occurs in the cruise ever happens then you would be entitled totake action but not I suggest on mere inuendo and ill-informed heresay.
In the old days we used to say that chopper drivers were born pessimists and that if something had not yet failed then it was about to. Without being complacent I think we have moved on a bit since then.
G
