Lear down in PHL

[Pilot Fighter]

I don’t have a problem with old 91/135 airframes not having CVR’s. I have a big problem with radios that sound like Korean War walkie-talkies.

 

[Richman]

I don’t have a problem with old 91/135 airframes not having CVR’s. I have a big problem with radios that sound like Korean War walkie-talkies.

VHF AM. What do you expect? Not so great for Electric Light Orchestra. Pretty good for picking up Radio Free Venus on not a lot of power or weight.

 

[Pilot Fighter]

VHF AM. What do you expect?

I understand the limitations of the technology. I kinda expect them to be maintained. Safety-wise, CVR’s are trivial in comparison.

 

[Ian_J]

All of the jets (US registered) that were equipped with a CVR that I've worked on required a fairly extensive functional check. I can't recall if it's an annual or semi-annual requirement, but you have to test all of the audio sources (the microphones mounted in the cockpit, any headsets, and anything the audio panel might provide including HF) and you have to do it with the airplane with no engines running, with the APU running, with each engine running by itself with no APU, with each engine running by itself with the APU and both engines running with and without the APU. I've seen airplanes come into a hangar for big inspections and somehow halfway through the inspection when the airplane is still on jacks that workcard is somehow miraculously signed off as completed. I'm quite certain the portion that didn't require running the engines was completed, but I'm also quite certain they never actually finished the scope of the functional test. I get why it's done but it's one of the reasons why I walked away from the whole shebang.

Great post. Thanks.