mike h wrote:

I do agree that experimental is the way to go... the company I work for is a
Designated Alteration Station and we engineer and certify various mods for
commercial planes... ususally avionics. But I know what has to go into
certifying a mod for a STC, and the ridiculous lengths the FAA is prepared
to push you through in order to justify 10 year old technology.

Case in point: I am currently quoting a Reduced Separation Vertical Minimums
upgrade for the venerable DC-9s... Basically replacing the altimiters with
digital ones that have been around since the 80's. The FAA needs us to
justify that electrical failure on these instruments is 'extremely
improbably', 10E-9. The ENTIRE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM of the DC-9, including the
current synchro altimiters, does not meet that standard :)

Mike

 
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