Dumb Design Decisions

Have you ever looked at something and said to yourself, "That is really dumb."?

Over the years I've run into some, of what I think are, really dumb design decisions. Some of the design decisions were purely 'just-being-lazy.' Others weren't thought out very well at all. In either case, these decisions not only make the plane more costly to produce and maintenance more difficult, they could make the plane difficult to maintain in an airworthy condition simply because it's difficult to work on. Some of the decisons, though possibly cost saving at the time, costs the owner much more than it should in the long run

Here they are for Cheetahs/Tigers: (This is a work in progress; I'll add items as I recall them)
.................. (Note: these are not in order, just off the top of my head.)

• First dumb idea: The AG5B. Well, most of it anyway.
  • Old AG5B: Engine guages that you can't see when flying because the throttle hides them.
  • . . . . plus, they are so low that in order to see them, youneed to bend down to see the top of the gauge.
  • New AG5B: Instrument panel layout, in the age of moving map navigation, putting the moving maps in front of the co-pilots seat instead of where the person flying the plane can use it. (see the most perfect Tiger in Restoration Projects for a practical instrument panel layout)
  • Eyebrow light assemblies (just the light sockets) that cost $50-$70 each.
  • one-piece Carbon Fiber lower cowling: in and of itself is not such a bad idea, but, riveting the carb air box to the left side so that it interferes with removal and installation of the lower cowling... dumb.
  • Using the same cowling latches used on the other AA5x series. Over time, the locking pins, which are a safety hazard to begin with, damage the lip on the lower cowling where they hit.
  • AG5B: The throttle quadrant that interferes with leg room. I'm 6 feet tall and I get a terrible cramp in my right leg when flying an AG5B. The throttle quadrant also decreases interior room.
  • AG5B: The heated air ducting that goes down the console from the vent at the bottom of the instruemtn panel. It is short, direct, and not in line. Fit and finish suck on this design.
  • On the New Tiger, not installing a fuel injected engine with a constant speed prop.
• Putting a cigarette lighter in a plane is stupid anyway; putting in one that is impossible to remove with console side panels in place is idiodic. Let's see. To remove the side panels, first remove the top plastic cover. To remove the top plastic cover, first remove the cigarette lighter. To remove the cigarette lighter, first remove the side panels. Say what???????
• Putting the microphone jack (in the left console) where it can't be reached to remove, tighten, or reinstall, is dumb.
• Putting the flap motor and bracket in the extreme left corner so that adjusting the left flap takes 30 minutes instead of 3 minutes for the right side. If they had only notched the top of the bellcrank (by 1/2 inch) which actuates the flaps, they could have saved hours in assembly.
• Putting the inspection panel in the Tiger under the carpet in the baggage compartment. They didn't do that on a Cheetah. So, inspecting a Tiger takes longer because the carpet has to be removed first.
• Plastic eyebrows. "Let's see," says the project manager, "Let's make a part that stays in the sun all the time so it will warp and deform and then we can make up our profit in selling replacement parts." Makes sense to me. Kind of reminds me of a Pratt & Whitney engine program I did.
• Putting a cover on the under side of the eyebrow. Changing a light bulb becomes a a 30 minute ordeal instead of 30 seconds.
• Metal exit ramps (78-79) for the cooling air. "Let's see," says the project manager, "Let's make a part of the cooling system that is less efficient than the original and will cause the lower right hand of the cowling to crack repeatedly because it won't absorb the vibration due to prop pulses. But, it's cheaper to build."
• The seat attachment. Sure, requiring the removal of just 2 screws is simple, but getting to them, especially to re-install the seat, is NUTS.
• This one is a little more confusing. On the inside fuselage, just above the baggage door, is an extruded piece of aluminum that is bonded and riveted into place. That's one thing. BUT. making it protrude into the channel where the plastic side panel is supposed to go in such a manner that in order to get the plastic to fit well, you have to trim out that area and leave it uncovered. Needless to say, the plastic will never fit well in this area.
• Wheel pants with over 140 separate parts! Is that overkill or what?
• Plastic main gear wheel pants that require a lead weight for balance. Why not move the mounting location or make it out of tougher (fiberglass) material.
• Defroster vents with an oval mounting for a round hose with only a 3/8 inch lip to mount to.
• Tiger: Square openings on both ends of the carb air inlet duct. Then using a round hose to connect them. Then routing it through the engine mount so that it has to be deformed to half it's useful area.
• Not splitting the lower cowling vertically
• A nose gear boot that doesn't easily slide (out-of-the-way) down the nose gear so that the cowling is easier to remove.
• Making removal and installation of the lower cowling something that repeatedly damages the lower cowling becasue it requires the cowling to be bent out of the way of the exhaust pipe.
• Under-sized bearings on the aileron outer support bracket.
• The flap position indicator. Need I say more?
• Pretty much the entire design, concept, and installation of all of the interior plastic.
• Making the hat rack install before the rear window mouldings. It's real easy to inspect the aft fuselage/empennage with the hat rack out. Why not install the hat rack so that it comes out first instead of last? Then, during an inspection, remove the hat rack and gain easy access. This would also eliminate the little inspection hole.