"can you say metal fatigue"
LOL....absolutely, Lester!! But this seems to
be a factor for pressurized aircraft mostly,
in my field anyway.
For the unpressurized set.....
the guys at Old Rhinebeck
are still flying the wood, wire and fabric covered Fokkers, Sopwiths, SPADS,
Albatri and Nieuports of WW1, and not a few of
them with original engines of that era
including Clerget, LeRhone, Oberusal castor-oil burning rotary types.
Safety features?? Slow landing speed...that's it!! <VBG>
Fuel tank's located just
forward of the cockpit, less than two feet
from the ole' crotcherino!!
Seriously now....
.....if there was a way I could install front
and side impact airbags in my Frog, I'd do
it in an instant. I definitely believe in the "new stuff". I also agree with
another
lister's post on "accident avoidance training" being the best thing one can do
for safety, vehicle type notwithstanding.
Still...
a high degree of situational awareness combined with the right "defensive
driving"
attitude and "avoidance" training goes a
long way. Gotta be ready for that tire or
guy who comes sailing over the divider,
head on!! BTDT (the tire, that is!!:).
It's all a crapshoot to a marked extent. I'll
take my Frog with it's rollbar and nimble
maneuverability. But man, if you're hit,
most especially in the side, it's gonna hurt.
OTOH, I love my room mate's VW Jetta 1.6T.
All the modern safety features one could
want, excellent suspension/handling, braking with ABS. It's quick, too. If I'm
gonna get hit, better off in the VW of
course.
Driving my '64 MGB one day...stopped at
a red light. Watch the guy coming up behind me....top is down...I can "hear" him
coming...Oh, wait a second...I shouldn't hear him coming!! He's gonna get me!!!
And he "just" did.Momentarily took my foot
off the brake as he did, and re-applied an
instant after (I AM really quick). Again,
a high level of SA (better with the top down
so the sense of hearing can be employed)
and the "right attitude" ameliorated the
damage. I turned a "hit" into a more gentle
"tap". He paid. No problem.
You pays your quarter, you takes your
chances. By the same token.....
...had a female buddy roll her Audi TT at 60
on the Merrit Parkway. Her fault as she
wasn't paying attention. Ran up, across and
over the left rear fender of the guy ahead
of her which "launched" her car over the
divider onto the other side's pavement
(no one coming the other way at the time...
damn lucky in this respect) as it rolled in
the air, landed (and stayed) on it's roof as
it slid off the highway onto the adjacent
grass, finally stopping as it impacted trees.
Opened the door (with some outside
assistance, of course), got the belt unbuckled and walked away with. Unreal.
Car was totalled. I don't think she even
got scratched.
Then there's the Nissan Altima event of
this past weekend which I observed, subject
of a prior post. Same thing...guy walked out
of it just fine. Amazing!
If you have to have an "accident", the
modern design and safety equipment does a better job as far as I see. I'd still
like to fly
a SPAD or Camel, though! :):)
Cap'n Bob
Basic Frog
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