Raft Line Release Steel?

Joined
Jan 26, 2010
Messages
20
Here's the scenario...

You are floating on a yellow hexagon along with the six strangers -- the only other plane crash survivors... who used the left forward exit -- when you suddenly realize that your bouncy raft is still tethered to a 60,000 kg Boeing that is more interested in exploring deep-sea wildlife than in treading water until help arrives.

It's up to you to sever the raft line and save your new friends, especially the guy in a suit on the left side, because when your survival story is made into am Amazon Prime exclusive, they would almost certainly cast Rick Hoffman for that role (just make sure you take a breath mint before you meet him).

You reach for your Bradford Guardian 3, which you never leave home without, when you realize it's not there because you were forced to check it along with your Boker Magnum Rainbow Mermaid folder.

Sacré bleu! You reach in your pocket, and pull out your Swiss Army Knife Classic that you bought in May 2013 because the TSA announced that they would be permitted, but then you realized that the TSA confiscated it from you when you flew in June 2013 because... J/K. Your TSA-compliant 3.9" scissors that you packed in your in-plane survival kit are now trapped in an overhead bin for all eternity.

You begin feeling anxious and hyperventilating. Just when you're about to enter a full-on panic attack (you know, the kind that happens to a 24-year-old when he realizes that he left his smartphone on some rental scooter down the street, and what happens to us when we take off our jacket and our 940's clip gets stuck on a jacket string and gets pulled out of our pocket and o...m...g... what did I do with my 940 where is it seriously has anybody seen it? this is not funny guys who took it??), you realize that there is a beige piece of plastic hanging from the raft and calling for your attention. Inside of its molded plastic hook you see something glimmering... it's a blade!!!

Your very survival (and your chance of meeting Rick Hoffman) depends on cutting the raft line with that little blade. Here is the question:

What steel are you praying that this little blade is made of?

v7e4Bxdh.jpg
 
Oh man. If it's going to be stowed away for a long time, probably LC200N. And then you don't have to worry about corrosion while at sea or possibly marooned on a tropical island.
 
The steel is generally the equivalent of 440A or AEBL. It is designed for no rust, a single use on a taught line.

And, not to worry. Here's the secret. All aviation life raft mooring lines have a weak point. So, the big plane isn't going to take the raft or slide raft down with it regardless.
 
H1 would be my hope If I were to worry about stuff like that but I don't. The way I see it If I die in a plane crash It will make world news as opposed to dieing in a car crash on some random street in smalltown USA in which I would only be mentioned in a small blurb in a local paper but that's just my opinion. If I was in a water landing and Did survive (statistically unlikely) and that little box cutter blade molded in plastic were to fail I would use the guy next to me's teeth to chew threw the the cord ;):thumbsup:
 
Back
Top