Weibull and Reliability/Failure Time Analysis - General Purpose

The reliability of a product or component constitutes an important aspect of product quality. Of particular interest is the quantification of a product's reliability, so that one can derive estimates of the product's expected useful life. For example, suppose you are flying a small single engine aircraft. It would be very useful (in fact vital) information to know what the probability of engine failure is at different stages of the engine's "life" (e.g., after 500 hours of operation, 1000 hours of operation, etc.). Given a good estimate of the engine's reliability, and the confidence limits of this estimate, one can then make a rational decision about when to swap or overhaul the engine.