@stux lol one of the paramedics I worked with recently was wearing this patch
@stux It would be funnier without the quotes. :)

@stux Too bloody right. I would never fly a helicopter - too many "Jesus bolts".

(Technical term for single point of failure such that if it breaks your only option is to call upon Jesus. A typical fixed wing aircraft has none; a typical helicopter has dozens.)

@TimWardCam @stux I'd never heard that term. But now I shall find appropriate reasons to use it whenever I can.
@TimWardCam @stux
"None" is not entirely true, the engines are sometimes mounted with only two bolts... If one of them breaks, the other one will probably decide to follow soon ๐Ÿ˜ฌ
@ingonymous @TimWardCam @stux thus twin engine planes

@glasspusher @ingonymous @stux Yeah, I was thinking mostly about little aeroplanes, the type I'm likely to fly. With only one engine. And if that fails you've still got a (slightly crap) glider, and over East Anglia there's pretty well *always* a field you can reach.

So yes, a single point of failure, but one where you *do* have other options than to call upon Jesus, eg land in a field.

@TimWardCam @stux
Not entirely true.
Lots of things in helicopters are redundant and over spec'd for safety.
A lot of things need to break and/or go wrong before a helicopter crashes.
@ChampersBE @stux I read the AAIB reports.
@TimWardCam @stux
A helicopter license is/was on my todo list so I followed basic helicopter training and did a test flight.
Part of all that was the safety training, during which they explained how and why all critical components were redundant and/or over spec'd.
Also depends on the type of helicopter of course. I flew an R44.
Hovering is pretty much the only dangerous maneuver.
And for airplanes it's even way more dangerous than for helicopters.
@stux Album cover material.