The GOP war on voting

[Red Arrow]

I thought some folks had piston engines in their aircraft that run fine on mogas? It's a little sad that the FAA certification requirements force piston engine aircraft owners to use engines straight out of the 40s. I understand they need to move slowly, given the safety risk of having aircraft fall out of the sky onto people, but it's getting ridiculous. I guess nobody really wants to put the time and money into getting a new design certified?

Airplanes with engines that used 80/87 can frequently get ($, but not too many considering the aircraft world) an STC (Supplemental Type Certificate) to use unleaded car gas provided it contains NO alcohol.  While that includes a lot of planes, there are some disadvantages of using car gas which include the vapor pressure of the gasoline and the fact that long term storage of auto gas is not good.  I don't believe Sta-Bil is allowed in airplanes.  Summer temperatures and hot under-cowl temperatures can lead to vapor lock on some planes which is NOT GOOD.  Operating at altitudes that cars do not get to gives more consideration to the vapor pressure of the gasoline.  There are other elements that I cannot identify that have always made airplane exhaust smell different than automobile exhaust even before catalytic converters. Avgas is different than Mogas.  Under many conditions, some airplanes can operate satisfactorily using Mogas.  Mostly they are lower performance planes.

[nathanm]

Obviously an engine designed for 100 octane wouldn't run so well on 87.

I would expect that a modern fuel injected engine would be a lot better about vapor lock and the like. It seems like fuel icing could be a problem in one that wasn't purpose built for aircraft use, though. I suppose you'd probably want one with a blower to help compensate for the altitude. Suddenly I'm less keen on the idea

I want an electric airplane. Too bad battery technology isn't quite there yet. There's just so much less to go wrong than in a gas motor.

[Red Arrow]

Obviously an engine designed for 100 octane wouldn't run so well on 87.

The common (only) aviation fuel available now is 100 Octane.  Engines designed to run on 80/87 can use it but there can be some problems. I think 80/87 had a lot less (maybe no) lead than 100LL.  Leaning the mixture (done manually on most small aircraft) allows engines designed to run on 80/87 to survive on 100LL.

I would expect that a modern fuel injected engine would be a lot better about vapor lock and the like.

I'm not so sure about that due to the altitude consideration.  Hot engine restarts (after filling the gas tanks and then not taking a potty break for example) on fuel injected aircraft are notoriously difficult due to warm under cowl temperatures.  I don't know why, but they are.

It seems like fuel icing could be a problem in one that wasn't purpose built for aircraft use, though.

Water in the fuel could freeze.  Sump draining the fuel tanks to check for water is part of a pre-flight inspection.  That is another reason that avgas is not allowed to contain alcohol. Nearly instant separation of any water in the fuel allow the pilot to drain the water.  You may also be thinking of carburetor ice which is a different problem.

I suppose you'd probably want one with a blower to help compensate for the altitude.

Turbocharging or supercharging allows the engine to maintain power at altitude.  It is not really a fuel issue.  All normally aspirated engines lose power as they climb in altitude.  Take your car to Denver from here and you will notice the difference.  In the days of carburetor type cars, the difference was even more noticeable as many carbs  had fixed orifice jets.  Some had vacuum modulated jets which kept you from blowing a bunch of black exhaust but the power level  was still down.

I want an electric airplane. Too bad battery technology isn't quite there yet. There's just so much less to go wrong than in a gas motor.

There is at least one electric self launch sailplane.  There is enough energy for a launch but not for sustained flight. After the launch, the engine/propellor are stowed and the sailplane relies on thermal/ridge/wave lift for sustained flight.  Battery energy density is just not enough for a typical power plane.

[Hoss]

Uh oh...

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/10/11/republican-party-voter-register-i-dont-get-credit-for-democrats/

[Townsend]

High Court refuses to weigh in on early voting in Ohio

http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/16/14484280-high-court-refuses-to-weigh-in-on-early-voting-in-ohio?lite

The Supreme Court has refused to issue an order that would have cut back on early voting in Ohio.

The state asked the court to block lower court orders that directed the state to let individual counties decide if they want to permit early voting on the weekend and the Monday before the general election for all registered voters. The state wanted to permit it only for members of the U.S. military.

In a brief, one sentence order, the court said the application for a stay was addressed to Justice Elena Kagan, the circuit justice for that part of the country. She followed the usual practice of referring it to the full court, which then declined to take up the case.

[Townsend]

Swing-State Billboards Warning Against Voter Fraud Stir Backlash

http://publicradiotulsa.org/post/swing-state-billboards-warning-against-voter-fraud-stir-backlash

Dozens of anonymous billboards have popped up in urban areas in the crucial battleground states of Ohio and Wisconsin. The signs note that voter fraud is a felony, punishable by up to 3 1/2 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Civil rights groups and Democrats complain that the billboards are meant to intimidate voters.

The billboards began appearing two weeks ago — 85 of them in and around Milwaukee, and an additional 60 in Cleveland and Columbus. The signs say in large white letters "Voter Fraud is a Felony!" There's a big picture of a judge's gavel and small letters at the bottom that say the ads are funded simply by a "private family foundation."

A number of liberal groups and labor organizations are demanding that the billboards be taken down.

"I think that these billboards are designed to suppress the vote. That is their intention," says Scot Ross, executive director of one of those groups, the Institute for One Wisconsin.

Ross notes that many of the signs are located in predominantly black, Hispanic and university neighborhoods.

"Just the concentration of them is a pretty good indication what the end goal is and who these anonymous billboards are targeting for voter suppression," he says. In other words, students, minorities and others who tend to vote Democratic.

And in such a close election, this has lots of people wondering who is behind the ads.

Clear Channel Communications, which owns the billboards, isn't saying. A spokesman wrote in an email to NPR that the advertiser asked to be anonymous. That goes against company policy, but he said the contract was signed by mistake and the company does not plan to take the billboards down.

"We will do all we can to ensure it does not happen again," the spokesman said.

He didn't respond to questions about why the company allowed almost identical billboards to go up anonymously in Milwaukee in 2010. They were also funded by a "private family foundation."

ColorOfChange, an online civil rights group, has launched a petition drive calling on Clear Channel to remove the ads. So far, more than 65,000 people have signed on.

"We're going to work incredibly hard to find out who's behind these," says Rashad Robinson, the group's executive director.

Even though the ads are factually correct, Robinson says, they imply that voter fraud is rampant.

"In fact, you're more likely to get hit by lightning than to have in-person voter fraud," he says. "These anonymous donors are not running billboards warning us about getting hit by lightning. They are running these billboards in black and brown neighborhoods with the real intention of scaring people."

He adds that it doesn't help that Clear Channel is owned in large part by Bain Capital, the former company of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney — although the acquisition occurred long after Romney's departure.

To some, all of this is much ado about nothing.

Nathan Conrad, a spokesman for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, says the party has no connection to the billboards, although it does take the issue of voter integrity very seriously.

"My impression and understanding is that they simply state what the law is in the state of Wisconsin," says Conrad. "And that being said, I'm not sure how it would intimidate anyone who was not planning on voting illegally going into the election season."

Larry Gamble of Wisconsin GrandSons of Liberty, a citizens group also concerned about voter fraud, says he doesn't think the billboards are intimidating or racist. He notes that two of them are near his home, well outside Milwaukee.

Instead, he thinks the ads are educational, because they inform people who might not know that voter fraud is a serious crime.

"If it's somebody that might be coerced into trying to game the system and vote twice or manipulate the elections process somehow, it sends a very clear signal, and maybe it would be a wake-up call for that individual," Gamble says.

Even if the billboards are intended to intimidate voters, there's no evidence such tactics work — that they don't instead have the opposite impact.

A coalition of billboard opponents called Election Protection hopes so. They put up new billboards Thursday in Milwaukee and Cleveland encouraging people to vote and stand up for their rights.

[Conan71]

Someone say "Voter Intimidation"?

Nothing to see here, move along.  The Justice Department will get right on it.

[erfalf]

Swing-State Billboards Warning Against Voter Fraud Stir Backlash

http://publicradiotulsa.org/post/swing-state-billboards-warning-against-voter-fraud-stir-backlash

Nevermind the first amendment or the fact that voting legal is perfectly legal. This should only be suppressing the fraudulant vote.

And to think, some people want to strip funding for NPR because they think its biased.

[Townsend]

None of this should be done.

It's pathetic.  Not sure why anyone would argue it.

[erfalf]

None of this should be done.

It's pathetic.  Not sure why anyone would argue it.

And you shouldn't have to tell people to come in out of the rain either, but...

[Townsend]

And you shouldn't have to tell people to come in out of the rain either, but...

I agree, you shouldn't.  You do this a lot?

[erfalf]

I agree, you shouldn't.  You do this a lot?

Old saying. Maybe not a city folk thing. 

[TeeDub]

Maybe you should go read the thread on moving the deer crossing signs...

Her vote counts as much as yours...   And twice as much if someone can talk her into voting two times.

[erfalf]

Maybe you should go read the thread on moving the deer crossing signs...

Her vote counts as much as yours...   And twice as much if someone can talk her into voting two times.

As much as that frightens me, we do live in America. And I thank the Lord everyday for that fact.

[heironymouspasparagus]

As much as that frightens me, we do live in America. And I thank the Lord everyday for that fact.

Accident of birth.  You just happen to be one of the lucky one out of 20 on this planet who got those "lottery numbers".


Or do you believe God chose 1 out of every 20 humans to be more special than the other 19??