speedy11
Joined: 29 Jun 2015
Posts: 62
Location: Port Orange, FL
|
 Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2024 8:19 am Post subject: Food for thought |
 |
|
I'm not looking for replies - although you are welcome to if you like . This posting is simply food for thought.
I built a RV-8 with dual busses that can be split. Each buss can be powered by its own ships battery (2 batteries on board - one forward and one aft) and each buss can power all critical items. (Note - the engine is not electrically dependent since I use P Mags) I installed two EFISs - one primary and the second is mainly used as an engine monitor, but it can also convert to the backup attitude/nav EFIS in case the primary fails. Additionally, each EFIS has its own backup battery. So, with multiple redundancies, I felt comfortable with using it in IFR. That is not to say that the RV is a stable platform in IMC, especially when hand flying - but that is another story for another time.
So, I am in VFR pattern, left base to final, in turbulent air, and I somehow bumped one of the multifunction buttons on the primary display. ( That is another subject worthy of discussion - that is, being able to make selections or changes on the EFIS during bumpy flight conditions) When I bumped the button, both EFISs went blank. Confusing, needless to say. Now I have no airspeed indications - in fact, I have no indications at all! So, I simply set a power setting that I knew would work (and my AOA was still functional), so landing was fairly straight forward. BUT, I thought - what if that had happened in IMC?!? Of course, in IMC one would simply engage the autopilot and command it to level flight, but there would still be that moment of confusion.
What happened was I had bumped a multifunction button that controlled the dimming function on the EFIS. I wired them such that dimming one EFIS simultaneously dimmed the other. I couldn't think fast enough during a critical phase of flight to analyze what might have happened.
Lessons learned - 1. Know how to quickly readjust the dimming function. 2. While it is convenient, consider not wiring the dimming functions together - rather make each EFIS independently dimmable.
| | - The Matronics AeroElectric-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?AeroElectric-List |
|
|
|
Get Email Distribution Too!
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
