Uncommanded Feather
@Niner Lima Charlie
I agree that there is some lack of clarity, and IMHO most [all?] press statements could be interpreted as referring:
- either to a physical lock on the feather mechanism/structure itself
- or to a safety lock on the feather handle.
However the current story is that telemetry indicated that there was an uncommanded feather deployment. Which I can only take to mean
that the feather activation handle wasn't involved in the deployment.
So, is it a physical lock or a safety lock? In the absence of known documentation on the question, lets think about the press releases.
- If it is a physical lock on the mechanism its state could well be important (e.g. in failing to prevent aerodynamic forces triggering deployment).
- If it is a safety lock on the handle its status is unimportant, as the event it might have prevented (movement of the activation handle) didn't happen.
So are the press releases about unlocking the feathers stating potentially important facts, or raising unimportant issues? I feel justified in believing
that a physical lock on the mechanism is involved, but would love to see the matter clarified in official documentation.