REFLECTOR: Odyssey Battery

[Brian Michalk]

Tell me more about your computer.
Is this homebrewed?  Want to team up?

Joe Ewen wrote:
> Landing as soon as practical is probably a wise choice, but isn't it nice to 
> be in the position to make the choice..  If I were flying to my home base, 
> was say an hour out, sever clear, day VFR, I lost the alternator, and knew I 
> had 2 or more hours of electrical reserve I might consider continuing on to 
> my destination.  But then I would start to wonder if the problem was 
> electrical or mechanical, what if an alternator bearing had failed and the 
> stator was being ground to dust, what am I going to loose next would be on 
> my mind.  In my case the alternator is driven by a belt shared with the 
> water pump (auto engine conversion.)  Will continued mechanical failure 
> affect the cooling system?  It doesn't matter how much fuel or electrons I 
> have on board, I may end up with a forced landing.  In my case the prudent 
> course would be land and check it out.  Installations are different and it 
> is possible that a alternator failure in another AC may not have the same 
> risks, so the decisions may be different.
> 
> In my case I am planning on reviewing possible failure modes and documenting 
> the course of action prior to first flight.  This will be part of my 
> emergency procedure section of the manual and onboard computer.  Better to 
> think through problems on the ground.  These procedures will be incorporated 
> into the onboard CPU Warning and Checklist systems, so options popup on the 
> screen the same time as the warning.  The computer monitors the 50+ branch 
> electrical circuits as well as all engine and flight data, so I should see a 
> failure like an alternator long before I loose too many electrons.
> 
> Well enough rambling, should get back to building.
> 
> Joe
>