Fuel Diagrams

[Squaretail]

Because I know someone loves such things.



Question, how many fuel pumps are there?

[Squaretail]

[Kaiya Armstrong]

Because I know someone loves such things.



Question, how many fuel pumps are there?

I count six.

[Colonel]

My work here is done.

BTW, is it possible to marry a forum thread, if you love it enough?

[Squaretail]

I count six.

Close but no banana. Most people miss the EPA drain pump.

[Squaretail]

The horror that is the Piper Tri-pacer's fuel system.

If it looks odd, its because the first iteration only had a fuel tank in the starboard wing. Later models had a port side tank that transferred to the starboard side. The belly aux tank was really prone to siphoning out if the cap seal wasn't in excellent shape, or the fuel being useless since the pump was kind of weak to pump fuel up to the right tank. The product of trying to make a plane as cheap as possible, but then realizing people don't want a plane that cheap, so trying to adapt it so it seems sort of normal. I think the port side fuel tank could only be used in level flight.

[Slick Goodlin]

I like the J-2 Cub’s fuel system: just a little nine gallon barrel on the other side of the instrument panel (you know, for all four instruments) with a quarter turn valve on the bottom (not pilot-reachable!) and maybe eighteen inches of hard fuel line to the carb. Oh yeah, and a gascolator in the middle.

[Colonel]

not pilot-reachable

Take me home, country roads …. (Yes Slick, it’s spelled with an “O”)

John Denver could land his Christen Eagle so he must have had some skill.

But one day, he got impatient waiting for the fuel truck and took off with partial tanks (no big deal) in his new Rutan homebuilt ... and then ran a tank dray at low altitude. Couldn’t reach the fuel selector with his seatbelt on, went for a swim in Monterey Bay.

Leaving, on a jet plane …

[Colonel]

Systems knowledge may not be fun, but it’s the difference between you living and dying. You must know how to get fuel from the tanks to the engine. Being able to raise and lower the gear is a bonus. This sure sounds simple.

Stick and rudder skill is another essential. Sometime, you might like to keep it on the runway with a crosswind. You might not want to stall and spin, especially at low altitude.

Weather knowledge is the third essential skill you guys need. I don’t. Sun shines every day.



There is a 4th essential skill which I will leave as an exercise for the reader. Not hard to guess if you’ve read anything I’ve written in the last 30 years.

[Squaretail]

I even have a favorite diagram.