Runway101
Ok, I did you the favor and read the article...
Let me forestall that I nowhere in my previous post questioned Mr. Tuckers experience or dedication - the dedication to his product is exactly what I was referring to: an executive of a company HAS to protect his own products and guess what, he did! He did not try to sell us that turbines are unreliable; but how wonderful reliable the engines are that his company uses! (pun intended
)
Btw. I always thought the reason for the derated engine on robbies where savings in structural parts and transmission; its apparently super for reliability too! Actually proves my point with that auto engine comparison I made.
(I don't want to get into a p*** match between Schweizer and Robbie, but in a Schweizer I hardly ever flew at max power - but at least I was allowed to!)
I am also a little confused by his use of "early engines where less reliable", how much earlier than the '50s can it get? Using the same basic design and derating it makes 'em newer?
The article is headlined "Turbine Reliability: Fact or Fiction" next to a picture of a turbine. The fact is, that besides (unchallenged by me and others) lack of fuel economy, efficiency and power to weight ratio on the first page, there is no analysis of reliability of turbines, it is an essay about R22/R44 engines - which again was expected!
One last point: the good old statistics:
When I did my Robinson safety course (yes, believe it or not, I too have flown robbies!) the different statistics came in handy to argue the fact.
Questions: why using two different time frames to prove a point (maybe the number of engine failures on the R22 increased after 1997)? How many B206/MD500 vs. R22/R44 where actually flying? Is it good or bad that the primary cause "pilot error" is so large (was the pilot not able to control the helicopter because of design limits
)?
My personal view is that the turbine engine is more reliable - but initially I just wanted to question the (naturally) biased opinion of the author for such an article...