ORIGINAL: da Rock
ORIGINAL: piper_chuck
Yup, knew it would happen. Every time the subject of power panels comes up, an imagined safety issue with cords is used to justify personal preferences.
Jeez, what a screwed up interpretation.
Not screwed up at all. It's very easy to develop a method where the power panel is as safe, or safer, than any other method. The problem is that people who don't prefer them rationalize their preferences by making it seem that every other option is unsafe.
"Imagined" ??? Not hardly.
Compare the safety of having to arrange a flight box so that neither of two cords will get into the prop while starting compared to having NO cords at all.
So what about me? I advised the poster to consider the options and explained my advice with observations. I prefer the convenience over all else. And added the real safety issue as icing on the cake.
And as I said, I prefer the convenience of only having to deal with one battery. The safety issue you keep citing doesn't exist, so it's a non-issue.
And left the decision or justification to the reader.
I didn't imagine that it's very convenient to have a portable starter, nor that their NiCds can be charged more conveniently, nor that the portable glowstarter is way more convenient than one on the end of a cord attached to a heavy box (heavier for the bloody big lead battery it would have to hold), and that trying to juggle two cords from one box isn't close to being convenient. And dealing with a flight box day in and day out, into the car, into the house, etc is a lot easier and convenient if the sucker is 7 pounds lighter.
My box is probably as light, or lighter than yours since it's not weighed down by a bulky starter.
So let's start your model with your powerpaneled flightbox..........
Move the heavy flight box up to the airplane so the two cords will reach.
Wrong already, the box is put in position when I arrive at the field, as is the plane.
Arrange the glowplug cord and attach.
Use the starter.
Starter? What starter?
Put starter back into box but don't move box as it'll pull the glowplug cord off.
Reach over prop, or walk around airplane and pull glowplug cord.
Hopefully you were joking about reaching over the prop, right? I find it quite revealing that you chose to throw that in when talking about using the power panel, but omitted it when describing your method. It's almost like you're intentionally adding things that you know are unsafe.
If you went around the airplane, come back and
move box from in front of airplane so you can taxi.
If this is the way you would do it then it's clear that you are better off not using a power panel.
Let's start the model with portables.
Attach glowstarter.
Use starter.
Don't you also have to move your heavier starter somewhere safe, or do you just sit it down in front of the plane?
Move around airplane and remove glowstarter.
Hopefully the glow starter didn't fall off and hit the prop during the starting procedure.
See any imagined anythings?
Yup, pointed them out.
As for safety, having a safe proceedure for a potentially unsafe situation doesn't erase that unsafe situation. Not having the situation does. Which is safer?
One more time, the wires themselves are no more or less safe than your method. You have your preferences and I have mine. Neither is by nature safe or unsafe, it's what we do with them that determines safety. Let's just leave it at that.