Dragster.
This report includes:
- Analogy
- Gas springs all leak
- Steel springs all fail
- Pneumatics
- Summary
We have been discussing the high failure rate of precharged pneumatics (PCP). Today I will go deeper into this topic. What makes an airgun fail and why do some of them last for a very long time?
Analogy
I’ll start with an analogy from the automotive world. A 500 cubic-inch NHRA Top Fuel drag-racing engine develops around 11,000 horsepower that propels the dragster from zero to over 330 miles per hour in 1,000 feet and in less than 4 seconds. That engine is based upon an automobile engine that develops 395 horsepower as it comes from the factory. The factory engine can last between 150,000 and 250,000 miles over a period of decades. The highly modified dragster engine lasts for a few seconds before needing to be completely inspected and have some parts replaced.
And so it is with airguns — I believe. What I’m about to write has a lot of guesswork and conjecture in it. If I know something for certain I will tell you. Otherwise what I write today is either based on observation or on my best guess.
Gas springs all leak
I know for certain that all gas springs leak. That is a fact you can check online — from the manufacturers of gas springs. They all leak but they don’t all leak at the same rate and that is a big deal. The gas struts that hold up a minivan’s rear deck door last a long time. They last for years and even decades. But eventually they do leak down and have to be replaced.
Things like excessive cold causes gas springs/struts to act like they have failed, but when the temperature increases they will recover a little. But make no mistake — all gas springs/struts leak and will eventually need to be replaced.
My Hatsan 135 QE Vortex .30-caliber breakbarrel air rifle is currently being repaired by the replacement of its gas spring. The gas spring in my Sig ASP20 air rifle is currently leaking down and needs to be replaced. Therefore spring-piston airguns that are powered by gas springs do fail.
Steel springs all fail
What about coiled steel mainsprings? Do they fail? They do, and the more powerful ones fail the quickest. Those that are not powerful can last for decades and even for more than a century, but in the end they all develop bends and failure points in the steel coils and their power decreases.
The steel mainsprings in 1,200 f.p.s. spring piston rifles fail the soonest. The coiled steel mainsprings found in low-powered air rifles like the 1906 BSA and Diana model 23 fail the slowest. But they all eventually do fail.
What I’m saying is you can expect the mainspring in a Weihrauch HW50S to last for decades, but the mainspring in a breakbarrel that’s rated over 1,200 f.p.s. will probably start failing noticeably within a few years.
Pneumatics
What about PCPs? Well, you have read in the past several weeks of the leaking problems I’ve been having with most of my PCPs. But I do have a PCP that hasn’t leaked yet. My USFT that I bought from the late reader Frank Ballestreri has held air for the two years I’ve owned it. I don’t have any record of its maintenance for the previous 15 years it existed, but I would not be surprised to learn it has never been resealed. And no — I have never oiled it.
Guess what that suggests? It suggests that a Benjamin Discovery (or any other PCP that is pressurized to just 2,000 psi) will last a long, long time. Good for you Crosman, for giving us the 3622!
On the other hand, BB’s Goldie (Avenger) that is filled to 4,351 psi is completely out of service and needs to be rebuilt. You have also read about my two-year old Avenge-X that I recently oiled and is now hopefully holding air (it was as of yesterday) was a leaker. And you just read about my Air Arms S510XS whose fill nipple I replaced. Hopefully it will hold, but if not I’ll replace all the seals.
Summary
We started this report talking about NHRA Top Fuel dragster engines and the fact that they only last for seconds, while the engines they are built from last for decades. Get 395 horsepower from those engines and they last a long time. Get 11,000 horsepower from them and they only last seconds. Do you see where this is going?
I am saying that airguns that are built for high performance — velocity and power — have to be rebuilt often. Airguns that don’t perform that highly — 1906 BSA springers and PCPs that get pressurized to 2000 psi — last a lot longer.
Do I know this for certain? No. But everything I read points to it and it’s what I have experienced in a lifetime of airgunning. I know for certain that coiled steel mainsprings and gas springs do fail over time.
You’re not supposed to introduce new material in a summary. I’m about to violate that rule. When I was in the Army I was a tanker and the tanks I knew were M60A1s. They had a very high failure rate. The highest failure item in the tank was the generator. It was air-cooled and was located on the bottom of the engine and transmission inside a thick steel hull that was supposed to be waterproof. We had to pull the engine/transmission “pack” to replace that generator.
M60A1 tank.
Then some engineers moved the generator to the top of the pack and also cooled it with engine oil. They thought putting it on top would make it easier to replace, but the generator located there and cooled by oil stopped failing altogether! Our tanks went from having high failure rates to being almost as reliable as our personal automobiles.
Please give this report some thought.
BB,
Flash powder puts out a lot more instantaneous light and heat than a votive candle, but the candle lasts longer.
Bill
Tom, in previous blogs you have suggested de-tuning some high-strung, high-performance spring piston guns to increase shoot-ability and practical accuracy. Would this also increase reliability or longevity of the powerplant?
There are sayings like, “performance, price or reliability: pick two”, that describe many airguns. I wonder if most consumers care about the last one, especially for a glorfied toy like an airgun (human readers of this blog excepted). MBAs (soon to be replaced by AI that feels even less pity or remorse), have price-performance points, ratios and indexes which largely ignore the reliability of disposable and planned obsolete products. “Get more performance for less!”
Daisy and Crosman multipumpers are reliable, cheap and perform well for their class, but are old-tech, tech that has depreciated in capital value and may even predate the disposable economy. Old-tech springers… seem to fall into the pick two category, why is that? Has their price bottom sagged exceptionally low over the past 15-20 years? Old-tech PCPs? My Airforce gun(s) (self identify as plural), are old tech for sure, reliable and surprisingly cheap this past year on sale, but _they_ lack the multi-shot, repeater or full auto capability that is part of a performance definition today. Reliability I can see, although there may be a difference between pick it up next year and it still hits the X vs. shoot it for a year and it doesn’t break; and price seems obvious, until one adds up all the CO2 cartridges; but who defines performance?
Or maybe it’s all random and occasionally a product will have all 3 but we won’t know which product until the others die off?
Mike, whose thoughts identify as plural too.
OK, you brought up the subject.
Do you know what a CSD (Constant Speed Drive Generator) on a Boeing 767 engine costs? $200,000.00 And it will destroy itself if you do not maintain the correct oil level and check it daily. People have been fired over a failure. You must sign off the inspection / servicing prior to each flight. You could also lose your FAA Aircraft Maintenance A&P license if you lied about doing it. Little do people know.
What’s the saying, “Life is 90% maintenance” If something moves or functions it will require maintenance, or have a measured life span, if not repairable, like me. And as you have made clear, the more demanding the more maintenance required.
The only thing that could replace an O ring is a lapped (highly polished, precisely measured, low clearance) metal to metal surface, but it needs to operate in lubricant. It’s not really a good air seal.
Most often used to direct the flow of hydraulic fluid in a selector valve as a sliding spool with fluid passageways cut into it to line up and open or close.
I believe the trick for the future in PCP’s is easily accessible and replaceable O rings, seals and kits. Kind of like what the TX200 did for springers, if I’m correct.
In case you were wondering.
Like most other items on an aircraft, things like the CSD do not operate till they fail. They have scheduled maintenance checks based on operational hours. Up to and including a complete removal and overhaul.
Something we should probably consider for air guns, but who is keeping track? They don’t exactly cost a fortune to repair or replace.
Bob M,
The truth is, I have never been a big fan of the airline industry.
With the zapping and strip searches to thwart terrorism, I have stopped flying altogether.
Now you are telling me that I need to be concerned with these big things falling on top of my head?
Flying today is like traveling by Greyhound bus – no, wait. The bus experience is better than that; at least if something goes wrong, you can park it by the side of the road. Try doing that with a Boeing airliner at 35,000 feet…
FM,
Although it is true that with a bus you can pull over to the side of the road when trouble arises, I am not a big fan of bus travel either.
RR,
Blue water icicles falling from leaking aircraft toilets would worry me more! I think your safe.
The brown ones scare me more.
Bob M.
More to your point, every study indicates that air travel is getting safer, precisely because of proper maintenance and training. In spite of headlines about this or that accident, today it is safer per mile to travel by air than any road based means of transport.
From MIT:
Commercial air travel fatalities per passenger boarding
1968-1977: 1 per 350,000
1978-1987: 1 per 750,000
1988-1997: 1 per 1.3 million
1998-2007: 1 per 2.7 million
2007-2017: 1 per 7.9 million
2018-2022: 1 per 13.7 million
Henry
B.B.
Humans also operate well until they fail. Anybody who has been around an elderly parent or grandparent knows this. I always assumed that this was a Law of Nature!
Yesterday RR posted that his PCP’s never leak. I guess he is the exception to the rule…
-Yogi
Yogi,
I did indeed post that I have had some of my PCPs leak down. The AirForce Edge, which is likely the most complicated AirForce air rifle ever made, did develop a leak some years back. I added a little silicone oil to the hand pump hose and thus injected it into the air rifle and it stopped leaking. It is now in BB’s hands and I have asked him if it is leaking.
I bought one of the last Maximus to be produced. It leaked from the get go. I injected a little silicone oil into it and it immediately stopped leaking. After I owned it for a couple of years it found its way into FM’s hands and he says it is leaking again. I am certain a little shot of silicone oil will bring it back up. It will also likely need to be carefully resealed as it was leaking when it was brand new.
My Talon SS, which is pretty old, is not leaking. My Texan is not leaking. My Armada, which is also pretty old, is not leaking. My BSA R10 SE is not leaking. If they start, I shall add oil and see. I may do such anyway as a preventative. I have not tested the Giffard yet. I am certain it will need to be resealed and will likely do such before I fill it for my first time.
I am no exception to any rule, I grow a little older every day. So do my toys. I try to take care of them, that’s all. My Harley has over 95,000 miles on it. A little maintenance can go a long way.
“A little maintenance can go a long way.” You bet – that’s why the FM Family Van, AKA “Van O’White” is going on 20 years and 215,000+ miles – maintenance by owner and the competent shop the FMs found. It is also driven on the gentle side – FM keeps it at 55 MPH on the highway except for brief bursts of speed to pass other even slower wheeled turtles. At those speeds and with the 5-speed automatic transmission, engine RPMs stay under 2000. Hope that old gal will make it to the 300K mile mark.
Take care of your “stuff,” don’t overstress it unnecessarily and your stuff will take care of you. And FM remains fond of his Maximi Family – so what if they leak a little here and there; so does FM.
This is generally true but there are some important caveats. Internal combustion and fuel quality are never perfect, so over time carbon builds up in the engine. This is compounded by emissions controls like exhaust gas recirculation and ethanol fuel additives. Water is a combustion byproduct and can build up in the oil if a vehicle is used for only short drives that don’t bring the engine oil to full temperature. A brief period of high load and high RPM operation will burn these deposits off. Don’t forget to give your ride the occasional “Italian Tuneup”.
DrKropp,
In reciprocating aircraft engines you use your Mixture Control to lean the fuel-air ratio to burn off combustion chamber carbon deposits while carefully monitoring cylinder head temperature for a maximum value at which point you return the Mixture Control to the normal operating range. If you don’t you will soon experience a Rough Runner engine.
Sulfitation of the Power Turbine on a jet engine is caused by excessive temperature and catalysts (like NaCl) on high/excessive Sulfur content Jet fuels.
There are ways to prevent many things before they result in full or partial failures of most things.
I use Proper Nutrition choice/Functional Fitness exercise vigorously and regularly to keep my near seventy six year old system Up and Running.
shootski
Thanks for the advice. Van O’White gets mostly interstate hwy miles and frequent oil changes. Once in a while FM pours a can of Sea Foam into the tank; van shows no signs of quitting. It is a 2005 Mazda MPV ES equipped with a Ford 200 HP 6-cyl engine; air conditioning unit has never been serviced and still blows cold air. Van O’ might outlive FM…
As FM’s physician brother-in-law says, “eventually we all wear out.” But, we need to maintain ourselves to the end in order to have decent quality of life, just as we need to fix and maintain our airguns in order to enjoy a quality shooting experience with them.
BB,
“Please give this report some thought.” Just a little bit of thought can indeed go a long way.
I do wish I liked the old multpumpers. Some of the younger crowd disdain “old technology” but fail to realize that not only does it work but is still working just fine in many cases. Yeah, seals do wear out on occasion, but often they can be replaced without much effort.
I do prefer lower pressures for my PCPs and lower power levels for my sproingers. As is pointed out, that seems to help some.
I do realize the iPhone was not around back then. I can well imagine that some young nerd will develop an air rifle that can be adjusted, aimed and fired with one of them things, but thankfully I will not likely see such. Wait a second, all of them there young’uns are shooting experts now with their war games on their iPhones now, aren’t they?
BB,
As an aside, did the engineers ever figure out why the generator was failing?
FM’s non-expert answer is – heat. High heat is the enemy of engines and motors.
FM,
It becomes obvious that you have more intelligence than the engineers who did the original design.
LOL! Undeserved compliment, but FM will take it – will take any compliments at this stage of decay. High heat consciousness is derived from FM delving with aircooled VW engines since his teens.
FM,
Nothing wrong with those things. I had one back in the Eighties and am thinking seriously about getting another. There is an old convertible just up the road a ways, sitting under a carport awning. I would really like to own a “Thing”.
If you find one make sure you go over it with a fine-tooth comb as unfortunately they’re rust collectors. That’s the Thing to do.
FM,
You may rest assured of that.
FawltyManuel,
As well as O-Rings!
Buna O-Rings are cheaper when compared to other O-Ring material choices. I seldom replace an OEM O-Ring with the same material choice.
The O-Ring supplier usually has good information resources explaining the operating limits as well as strengths and weaknesses of the various compounds and durometer (stiffness/resilience) an O-Ring can be fabricated of.
shootski
Here! Here!
I totally agree. Buna takes a set much quicker than other materials. I am a big fan of Viton for most applications and EDPM for anything that has water only. Viton would work but EDPM cost less. Buna tends to degrade fairly quickly in water.
Mike
RR,
Yes. It was overheating.
BB
BB,
Let me see now. Let us take an air cooled something or other and place it in a supposedly airtight container. I guess this illustrates that a higher education does not indicate a very high intelligence.
Ridgerunner,
Ensign Pavel Chekov sourced them from Alameda…
Actually it is the CSD which is a differential driven system if i remember correctly. We had brushless optically magnetic commuted generators on one of the aircraft types i got to fly to reduce the GRASS (electronic noise) in our systems; don’t EVEN ask what those cost.
shootski
They must have been invented in Russia first. Just ask Chekov, he will tell you.
BB,
That reminds me of the article you wrote in April last year about rangefinding and the coincidence rangefinder in the M60A1.
I had visited the Panzermuseum in Munster just a couple of weeks beforehand and noticed the coincidence sights on a Bundeswehr M48 Patton (pictured), but didn’t know what they were until I read your article.
I wonder why the Germans didn’t use coincidence sights on their tanks and tank destroyers during WWII, as one often sees PaK crewmen using handheld stereoscopic/coincidence sights in old newsreel footage.
Bob,
I couldn’t guess why the Bundeswehr tanks didn’t have coincidence rangefinders. They were a German or Swiss invention, I believe. Reflex cameras like the Rolleiflex also used them.
BB
BB,
Yes, it’s strange they didn’t think to install them in their tanks, as they even fitted some Panther tanks with infrared sights for night fighting. Here’s a side view of that Patton with coincidence sight housing clearly visible just below the cupola.
Funny to see the iron cross on an American tank. It’s reminiscent of 1960’s Hollywood WWII movies which dressed up American tanks as German panzers.
Bob,
Yep, that’s a coincidence rangefinder alright!
BB
Yeah, I remember that FO-PA. It jumped out at me as I was really into tanks.
RR,
FO-PA? Pardon my French, but do you mean faux pas? 😉
Yeah, it wasn’t until 1971 that Hollywood made a decent attempt to portray realistic looking panzers on the silver screen with T-34s modified to resemble Tiger tanks in Kelly’s Heroes.
That mock-up was copied for Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan in 1998. The dead giveaway in each case that they are not real Tigers is the running gear. And in the latter movie also the laughable use of a 55 gallon oil drum lid as the commander’s hatch!
Kelly’s Heroes – that was a fun and crazy movie; good cast too. Remember thinking at the time, “where did they get a Tiger!?” Later found out it was a modified Russky tansky.
FM,
I also enjoyed that movie greatly. Donald Sutherland was fantastic.
Bob,
Sorry, I am not French. I am an Appalachian-American. You know, a hillbilly.
Bob,
I was in the theater with a bunch of older gentlemen watching Saving Private Ryan. After the first ten minutes, there was not a dry eye (including mine) in there. Mine are not dry as I type this.
I have to admit that I did not pay attention to the tanks in that flick. It was a pretty good movie about war until Mr. Hanks gave that sappy little speech at the end of it. I guess they had to allow him to have some input into it. They should have left it at his shooting at the tank with his pistol. That was far more realistic and likely spot on.
Such as 1966’s “The Battle of The Bulge” – believe M60s played the role of Tigers.
FM,
Yeah, I remember that farce also. I guess the movie itself wasn’t bad, but the rendition of the German tanks was terrible. There were likely serious budgetary constraints. Finding and using actual WW2 German tanks can be quite expensive.
Suggest anyone who can do so visit the British Armor Museum at Bovington.
FM,
I would most definitely enjoy that. There used to be one in Danville, Virginia but I understand it has since closed. That is a shame.
B.B.
Although you didn’t address C02 (or I missed it), I assume they are kind of like a low powered PCP as for as lasting longer? I understand there is exceptions to the rule, but in general. Example, I still have a Daisy 200 semi auto bb pistol that doesn’t leak. I have another that does leak and owned a couple more that leaked also. I know they fail and failed often. But yet there is always that one.
Also, I assume a single pump pneumatic would be more reliable than a Multi pump due to less pressure?
I’m all about reliability. When I was young I loved working on stuff. Now not so much. I just want it to work. When looking at air guns, first thing I do is look for a review in this blog. Then I look at all the reviews on PA. If you look at them closely, sometimes you can spot a problem or problems a model will have. Reading this blog and all the reviews, maybe I should stop looking for the fastest multi shot break barrel and powerful PCP. Maybe I should focus on something like an HW30 break barrel or a good single pump pneumatic.
Last question, Although the Beeman P1 would be consider powerful pistol (for a springer), would it’s spring hold up better than the 1200 fps rifles (I know the P1 was consider a magnum pistol back in the day).
Doc
Doc,
CO2 CAN’T be over-pressured because of how the gas works. Couldn’t say about the SSP.
As for the HW30S, go for it!
P1springs do seem to last for over a decade.
BB
Doc,
As stated by BB go for the HW30S. I have a SSP that does not work I would be happy to send you. It is a real cheapy and I have not bothered to even look for my round tuit for it. I did have a very nice SSP at one time. It was a FWB 601. If I am not mistaken, it operated at a pretty low pressure which would help the seals last longer, however I do not know how well those seals would last. When you consider power, you probably need less than you think.
As for multi shot break barrels, I have one I would be more than happy to sell to you at a very reasonable price.
BB
Interesting article. Guess at the end of the day it all comes down to design for purpose. The problem is that the best designs are usually built around singular requirements. Add more requirements, more points of failure. I’m totally amazed that the best BB gun in the world is designed for 5 meters, can shoot targets the size of a sentence period and only costs $175.00. The key is the use of quality materials, proven low powered propulsion plant and consistent ammo. Will not make your coffee but 100% built for purpose.
Kind Regards
jda001
This report and the comments reminds me of a saying: “[sigh] everything is relative, but I’m an only child.”
What I find is the pleasure of taking a neglected airgun and cleaning it up and bringing it back to some semblance of its former glory. That is called doing the deferred maintenance. I have a whole lineup of airguns waiting for that:
AR2078-needs new seals
Several Crosman 160 rifles
Crosman 70 rifle
Crosman 111 pistol
Crosman 112 pistol
Smith & Wesson 79G pistol
Benjamin Discovery rifle
FWB 124 rifle
Crosman 600 pistols
to name a few….
Thanks IAN for teaching me to reseal the Crosman Mark I and II pistol. You started me on this aspect of the hobby.
I guess what this all means is that BB has to include in his reviews how easily an airgun is to maintain. They all need it, but I would rather own the airgun that is easy to maintain.
Your Welcome RG.
Always glad to help.
Now the 79G is easier to reseal than the Mark I.
So there’s no excuse not to reseal that one, and the caps are interchangeable (the same man had a hand in designing them. )
Ian
On a related note: I have a question about maintenance and tuning for gas spring air rifles. It seems like most of the helpful advice out there is related to steel springs, things like special greases to damp harmonics, swapping in lower power springs, piston lubrication, etc.
What tweaks can I use to tame a Gamo Swarm Bone Collector generation 2? The shot cycle is pleasant enough to me, but nothing I have tried has prevented the scope from shifting in the rings and it is incredibly hold sensitive. It also seems to diesel on the first shot after sitting for a couple of days, throwing the shot well away from the aim point, which is a big benefit for the rabbits eating my wife’s flower bulbs. Would a thorough cleaning and relubrication of the power plant help with this? Does anyone offer lower power gas springs, or springs with features to dampen shock loading?
I did install a longer screw in the trigger adjustment location. If you haven’t tried that I highly recommend it, it dramatically changes the character of the rifle for an investment of pennies in an M2.5 screw. I think Gamo made a decent trigger but the legal department neutered it with a too-short screw.
DrKropp,
I don’t think the Gamo gas spring is maintainable, so I don’t see any way to tune the rifle.
BB
Keep a box of rubber mulch near where you store the gun. At the first sign of a shooting opportunity, fire a pellet into the rubber mulch pellet trap and you are good to go.
On the scope, try a Williams peep or a red dot sight. Either may be light enough to avoid the inertial forces trying to walk them back toward you. Also, there are additional scope stops you can place on the rail. Like this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/204259428981?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=dujrYbxQT-C&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=g1VQzXcdTNm&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
What you are talking about could be a bad piston seal. The seals can have small cuts in them causing blow by. This causes increased recoil thus shifting your scope. There’s more that can be done ( NOT adding the so-called tar) to help with the shot cycle and not effect your FPS at least from my experience.
Most devices work extremely well when they are properly lubricated, operated within optimal stress limits in the clean, temperature controlled lab environment that they were designed and tested in.
For optimal performance and reliability in the real world, it’s up to the owner to make sure that operating conditions, cleanliness and lubrication are maintained. Parts subject to wear should be replaced as required.
Summed up simply, if you want something to continue working, take care of it and don’t abuse it.
I have owned a number of PCPs for quite a long time now. Different brands and performance levels, only one ever leaked – that was my fault as I accidently introduced dirt into seal and cleaning fixed the problem. I have replaced a couple of O-rings that were showing wear from constant use so they never got to the leaking stage.
I think that many leaking problems can be traced back to exposing a PCP to temperatures beyond the acceptable working range. If you take a fully filled PCP and leave it in a car in the sun where the temperatures can make metal too hot to touch, the pressure in the gun will increase, the O-rings will soften, deform beyond their ability to recover and permanent damage/leaks can occur.
Excessively cold environments can cause O-rings to become brittle, shrink, develop cracks and leak.
“Hot-rodding” a PCP to see what the maximum power is can easily exceed design limits and cause latent failures that show as leaks.
IMHO, doing any of those things is abuse and I don’t think it is fair to blame the product, or design or even the lowly O-ring.
Granted, things can happen. Something can be poorly designed or poorly assembled with out of spec, low quality parts and leak from square-one. I’d suggest that a product that performed well when new but has failed early was not properly maintained or used.
My friend was plagued with a badly leaking PCP that defied his resealing attempts. I fixed it for him and it worked fine until he left it in the car (again). I had him “help” when we resealed to PCP and he admitted that he was not careful to keep the new O-rings clean (just dumped them on the bench), he never pre-lubricated them with silicon grease and “might” have been a little forceful/rough installing them. The PCP has not leaked for 3 years now that he is careful not to leave it baking in the car.
Just my 2 cents.
Cheers!
The big picture.
With an entire lifetime of being a mechanic, I have come to the conclusion that not too many complicated items are designed and built to work in a specific environment or location, the big picture.
Especially things that are bench designed and assembled and later installed on other equipment designed by someone else who in turn has no idea where it will be installed and under what conditions it will operate.
Things created with all that information collected from the get-go are the most reliable and easiest to maintain. Aircraft companies are good with the big picture and giving feedback to component part companies. Just wish they did not have to be jammed into such tight places.
Often there are compromises made to increase sales or broaden the market, and many things made still totally overlook some of this big picture info by choice for cost cutting or limitations in end product design.
Having to remove an engine intake manifold to access spark plugs because of a low hood for example.
Exhaust headers designed for one engine that don’t fit every engine compartment it may be installed in.
Spark plug distributers put in front of the engine block for ease of maintenance that get flooded out when you hit a deep puddle. Sometimes you just can’t win and need to accept the lesser of two evils.
Where will an airgun be used and under what conditions? Everywhere and everything. Try to cover that in planning. Compromise and options are the result, and we decide what ‘our’ big picture is.
Things are getting better; experience has taught us well, but we need to rely on computers a lot more now and increased technology has its own problems to work out as well to function in its big picture.
Job security for mechanics!
As far as flying goes, you are placing your life in the hands of the aircrew and mechanics. Fortunately, most are as smart as Shootski. Well almost.
Bob M,
Thank you for the undeserved compliment.
I learned early on that COMPLACENCY is the big killer of Aviators. I did a self check before and after every flight evolution for indications of that evil that comes with level of experience in Airframe Type, Route/Environment, or Mission.
shootski
PS: the Donny FL SUMO (.25 -.30 caliber) arrived late today and is installed on the AIRROW STEALTH A-8SRB. I was limited by darkness to only two shots @ 1400 PSI the Kodiak 30 grain impact is all i could hear. I have one 22 cu.in. bottle with the regulator set at 1600 PSI that will drive the Kodiaks Supersonic; i reserve that bottle/regulator for 40+ grain projectiles. It will be interesting to see if it still gets 80+ FPE.
I have two 1400 PSI regulator 22 cu.in. bottles one of which is leaking out of the Foster FILL fitting orifice; it will be interesting to see if it is the one that still has a Buna-N O-Ring! The others all have VITON (FKM, FPM) O-Rings on the check.
My next round of Foster Fill fittings are going to get Teflon® encapsulated VITON O-Rings.
Well BB,
I received the AirForce Airguns Condor Refill Adaptor Set and they must think I’m special. They included some extra screw thread material for free, in case I happen to strip some out, I guess. It was hidden inside for some reason. Probably should have its own little packet.
Three seals, where is my silicone oil now? Probably should put some oil on the spare thread material to keep it from rusting. Think so? 😉
Bob M,
it’ SWARF to me ;^)
shootski
Shootski,
I think you hit the nail right on the head there.
At first, I was leaning toward discarded mouse bed springs but how would they get inside there? Unhappy union mice working at AirForce? Nah.
Bob M,
Heli Coil gone bad?
I’m leaning towards AirForce mice positioning for pay rise or pension negotiations…at worst AIRBUS saboteurs?
shootski
“Then some engineers moved the generator to the top of the pack and also cooled it with engine oil. They thought putting it on top would make it easier to replace, but the generator located there and cooled by oil stopped failing altogether! Our tanks went from having high failure rates to being almost as reliable as our personal automobiles.”
BB, the rest of the report is interesting, but this last paragraph is the best…awesome! 😉
Brother dave,
We knew relocating the generator was a good idea because only the back deck of the tank had to be removed to access it. What we didn’t appreciate was the fact that cooling it with oil made it stop failing altogether!
They did other things like changing the engine wiring harness so all the quick-disconnects on all the cables were routed to one place that was easy to access. Instead of taking 2-1/2 hours to go around the pack to disconnect them it could be done by one mechanic in 15 minutes.
This program was called RISE — reliability improvement through systems engineering. Some of those M60A1s with add-on stabilization (AOS) are still in service today around the world.
BB
” Instead of taking 2-1/2 hours to go around the pack to disconnect them it could be done by one mechanic in 15 minutes.”
“Some of those M60A1s with add-on stabilization (AOS) are still in service today around the world.”
BB, I love it when I read stuff like that…way cool! Thank you. 🙂