Precision Discontinues Carbs

Did anyone else see this at the Precision site?ALL carb sales and support stopped as of 11/1 because of liability ins.Not good !
Bill

I'm assuming this is the same carb that's on my stocker 12? Like the man said: kill all the lawyers. Maybe the insurance guys as well.

Probably the smartest thing for somebody to do is to take the carb business off-shore, like maybe to Canada, Germany, Mexico or somehwere in order to avoid the nonexistent liability crisis. This is pure BS. You gotta wonder when we, the people, are gonna stand up and say enough is enough. Additionally, wouldn't the tort reform that covers manufacturers of older airframes apply here as well? It may be too soon to get too exercised over this, but this is can't be good for us.

They are still looking for an insurance carrier.

I'll keep rebuilding my old stuff any way.

I've gotten "new" precision stuff that sucked.

I'm not surprised that they'd just quit.

I have never messed with an MA4, but my skill with the old Strombergs has kept me in carburetors without having to hire an overhauler for almost a half century. What should I look for when overhauling an old Marvel Schebler? If they start leaking, is it usually the needle/seat?

oldbaldguy said:

Probably the smartest thing for somebody to do is to take the carb business off-shore, like maybe to Canada, Germany, Mexico or somehwere in order to avoid the nonexistent liability crisis. This is pure BS. You gotta wonder when we, the people, are gonna stand up and say enough is enough. Additionally, wouldn't the tort reform that covers manufacturers of older airframes apply here as well? It may be too soon to get too exercised over this, but this is can't be good for us.

Click to expand...

Tort reform? Unlikely with the current crowd in Washington and the crowd about to get the Presidency. As long as it is their money that fuels the campaigns you are more likely to see little green men before you see tort and campaign finance reform.

It's a matter of economics. Overhead for a law firm is expensive. Most lawyers have to bill out a minimum 1,200 hours at an average of $135 an hour to stay alive. The pressure to sustain the billables is tremendous. In a law firm your career in that firm depends on it. Imagine an entire firm of 50 or so lawyers trying to generate that each day...

In short, somebody has to pay for their existence. Any form of practice where you can get an insurance company to pay out is a bonus.

Here in Maine we have more lawyers per person than just about any state in the nation. Ironically, the bulk of legal work in this state is indigent criminal defense and poor paying domestic relations work. A lot of the lawyers just scrape by. They don't get paid for a lot of work they do.

Maine only has one city--which is actually a suburb of Boston--that has a healthy economy. It has several large law firms, ranging from 15 to 50 lawyers. You do the math and it is mind boggling that there are clients that can sustain those endeavors. The reality is that there aren't enough clients.

I think it can be said that the aviation tort reform act of the early 90s has been a success and a failure. It has been a success from the standpoint that it revitalized the general aviation manufacturing market. It has been a failure inasmuch as the lawyers quickly found someone else to sue--FBOs and vendors, thereby increasing the expense of owning an airplane.

Again, someone has to pay the never ending meter at a law firm. It is an endless and vicious cycle that is a drain on any economy.

Interestingly enough, I note that our state, which has been under one party leadership for almost 8 years, is now Number 2 in tax burden and Number 48 in economic development nationwide. I would argue that that is a very poor track record. Our latest economic salvation--casinos.

In Maine aircraft ownership is disfavored as a tool for economic growth, with all purchases taxed. This is a tremendous disincentive to locate a corporate airplane here.

It will be interesting to see what the aviation groups do to try and ease the crisis with Precision. It's likely they will have to self-insure, passing the cost on to us and the caveat that one suit and they are done, done, done with the carb business.

I saw on the news last night that the city of Los Angeles is sueing 20 or so toy companies for putting toys on the market that somebody decided were unsafe for some unknown reason. Before this, I'd never heard of such a thing. If this keeps up, we will be a nation that produces nothing and does nothing for fear of being sued into oblivion. Insurance also is a racket -- you pay and pay but when you need 'em, half the time they won't pay up. When did we lose the idea of personal responsibility and common sense?

In my opinion (and I'm certainly opinionated lately :lol, we lost our ethic of personal responsibility and common sense when it was discovered that:

a. someone else is always to blame for our problems
b. someone else can always be made to pay for our problems

I would also make the argument that the above is now a valid political ideology in this country.

Hence went the Grand Republic....

Good news on the carburetor front!!!!

AERO ACCESSORIES/TEMPEST ANNOUNCE THE ACQUISITION OF PRECISION CARBURETOR PRODUCT LINE

GREENVILLE, SC — A group including Tim Henderson, President of Aero Accessories, and others involved in the manufacture of the Tempest brand of general aviation products and Precision Airmotive have reached a tentative agreement to acquire Precision’s MSA line of carburetors and spare parts. The details of the agreement remain undisclosed, however the production line will be moved to a North Carolina headquarters and manufacturing facility. The acquisition and move are scheduled to be completed by January 31, 2008.
The Henderson Group’s immediate plans for the product line will be to continue to produce the carburetors and parts as Precision has in the past. The long term strategy will be to integrate the product line into the engineering and research & development programs that have inspired industry leading product and safety improvements to current Tempest pneumatic and filtration products. The carburetor products will be sold under the popular “Tempest” brand name.

“We believe this to be an opportunity that meets a need in the general aviation industry” stated Aero’s President Tim Henderson. Stan Fletcher, Tempest Plus Marketing Group President, stated, “Precision carburetor products meet the same high standards for quality and value that Tempest has become known and respected for in the industry. We are excited about the acquisition of this high-quality product.”

Tempest is the leading brand of pneumatic systems including the Tornado 3000 dry air pumps, filters, valves, regulators and electric stand-by pumps. Additionally they market Tempest fuel pumps and magneto parts, and a complete line of aviation spin-on oil filters. Manufacturing facilities are located in Gibsonville, NC with sales and marketing offices located in Greenville, SC and Atlanta, GA.

Finally some good news!!

A little more insight into the matter:

http://www.amtonline.com/publication/article.jsp?pubId=1&id=5004

John Scott

On July 24, 1999, about 0325 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 150L, N19222, registered to Ormond Beach Aviation Inc., was substantially damaged during a forced landing, near Ormond Beach, Florida. The commercial-rated pilot and dual student pilot reported serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed in the vicinity, and no flight plan had been filed. The local instructional flight was being conducted in accordance with Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight had originated from the Ormond Beach Airport, at an unknown time.

The flight was conducted as an instructional flight for the purpose of giving the student a night check-out. At 0324, a "MAYDAY" call was made by one of the pilots to Daytona Airport. The flight had been flying in the traffic pattern at Ormond Beach, when the airplane's engine lost power. The pilot put the airplane down on a road adjacent to the Ormond Beach Mall about 1/2 mile southwest of the airport. The airplane impacted the ground and nosed over. Examination of the wreckage revealed that fuel was present in the fuel tanks.

The engine was examined under the supervision of the FAA at Ormond Beach Aviation's facility, Ormond Beach, Florida, on July 28, 1999. The examination revealed that the No. 2 exhaust valve was stuck in the open position. According to the FAA inspector's statement, "...the No. 2 exhaust valve was stuck open which led to a loss of power." Further examination of the cylinder revealed no discrepancies were found in the valve stem, valve guide size, or part numbers.

Toxicological tests were conducted on both pilots at the Federal Aviation Administration, Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and revealed, "No ethanol or drugs detected in Blood."

Neither crewmember gave their version of the accident or made any statements. The FAA inspector stated, "the flight instructor suffered a head injury and could not remember the accident. The student [pilot] refused to speak with the FAA and returned to England a few days after the accident."



This must be the NTSB report, although the date is 2 days before the one quoted in the article. What's disturbing is that there is no mention of a carb problem. Just a stuck exhaust valve.

Rich

Richgj3 said:

On July 24, 1999, about 0325 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 150L, N19222, registered to Ormond Beach Aviation Inc., was substantially damaged during a forced landing, near Ormond Beach, Florida. The commercial-rated pilot and dual student pilot reported serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed in the vicinity, and no flight plan had been filed. The local instructional flight was being conducted in accordance with Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight had originated from the Ormond Beach Airport, at an unknown time.

The flight was conducted as an instructional flight for the purpose of giving the student a night check-out. At 0324, a "MAYDAY" call was made by one of the pilots to Daytona Airport. The flight had been flying in the traffic pattern at Ormond Beach, when the airplane's engine lost power. The pilot put the airplane down on a road adjacent to the Ormond Beach Mall about 1/2 mile southwest of the airport. The airplane impacted the ground and nosed over. Examination of the wreckage revealed that fuel was present in the fuel tanks.

The engine was examined under the supervision of the FAA at Ormond Beach Aviation's facility, Ormond Beach, Florida, on July 28, 1999. The examination revealed that the No. 2 exhaust valve was stuck in the open position. According to the FAA inspector's statement, "...the No. 2 exhaust valve was stuck open which led to a loss of power." Further examination of the cylinder revealed no discrepancies were found in the valve stem, valve guide size, or part numbers.

Toxicological tests were conducted on both pilots at the Federal Aviation Administration, Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and revealed, "No ethanol or drugs detected in Blood."

Neither crewmember gave their version of the accident or made any statements. The FAA inspector stated, "the flight instructor suffered a head injury and could not remember the accident. The student [pilot] refused to speak with the FAA and returned to England a few days after the accident."



This must be the NTSB report, although the date is 2 days before the one quoted in the article. What's disturbing is that there is no mention of a carb problem. Just a stuck exhaust valve.

Rich

Click to expand...

I think this was "dreamer" on this site. Check her posts and see if they match.

Tim

Tim

Did you mean you think "dreamer" was involved in the accident? Sorry if I'm confused, but I just got up. Do you think this is the same one that caused the suit? Seems like it is to me.

Rich

Good Grief Guys ! :roll:

Dreamer's accident happened in the Everglades west of the Ft Lauderdale / West Palm Beach area AND it happened only about 1 month ago!!!

Don't you remember the link to the IR video clip of the plane in the marsh? No roads or shopping mall in sight.

John Scott

I just read C-150 in Fl and remembered dreamers post.

The point I was trying to make when I cut and pasted the NTSB report on the accident that led to the carb lawsuit was that the NTSB found no fault with the carb. I wonder how we got from there to Precision having no insurance? I guess there were some lawyers involved. That's the scariest part for me, that the facts go out the window if you get the right lawyer and a sympathetic jury.

Rich

Wanna bet there were no pilots on that jury.


There must be another report that only the lawyers get to see.

Anybody know how they arrive at the absurd amounts they award?It must be like a slot machine.You just pull the handle and a figure in the tens of millions pops up.

I may be wrong but wasn't it Socrates that said in order to improve Greek society that they first had to get rid of the lawyers.

Bill

willyb said:

I may be wrong but wasn't it Socrates that said in order to improve Greek society that they first had to get rid of the lawyers.

Bill

Click to expand...

Actually, I think the quote you mean is from Shakespeare's Henry VI (part 2):

"The first thing we do, Lets kill all the lawyers"

Precision Discontnues Carbs

Thank You Ursa Major.I remembered someone had said it.
Bill