[PSUBS-MAILIST] Propane sub risks

[CWall@swri.edu]

Herve, first of all, saleability isn't a factor for me- I don't pretend to be
able to convince anyone else that the sub would be "safe".   Just like my
experimental aircraft, anyone who hadn't been fully involved at the outset
would be a poor candidate for avoiding all the attendant pitfalls.  

Second, "risk" is EXACTLY what my efforts are aimed at reducing to an
acceptable level- acceptable to ME, that is.  I don't intend to take
passengers, but that doesn't mean I would allow myself to take chances beyond
what I think can be managed successfully 100% of the time. I don't buy lottery
tickets; I see no reason to play the odds with submarines either.  

In short- the obvious (and not-so-obvious) dangers are what a design exercise
like this is all about.  The benefits of propane are substantial, IF the risks
can be managed, and I won't kid you- designing those risks out is not a trivial
 task.   I do not recommend that others emulate me should I choose to construct
 such a vehicle.

But having said that, and being no stranger to such perverse activities, I'm
not ready yet to give up.  I have satisifed myself that  the basic concept is
sound, and now the details remain to be distilled to a balance of reliability
and redundancy.  And at this stage I see more risk in operational issues than
plumbing- in other words, I believe I can execute the design in such a way that
 it would take operator error to generate a problem. 

Not being perfect myself, more work remains to be done.  You can be sure I
won't foist the completed system off on some poor soldier or any other
unprepared operator, either for money or on a bet.   But then- you got away
with it, didn't you?

Craig Wall