FastEddieB Posted December 5, 2013 Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 I may have posted this before, but... ...back when I ferried crop-dusters, the hopper was hooked up to the fuel system - we put 150 gals up there - about 10 hours at 15 gph in addition to the 50 gals in the wings. On one flight I smelled fuel, and could see fuel dripping from the jury-rigged selector valve. I found if I held upward pressure on the selector, it would stop. VIOLA! A typical Fast Eddie solution! Not much you can't fix with bungees, tywraps, duct tape and safety wire! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Cesnalis Posted December 5, 2013 Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 I remember a scene out of McMinville at Roger Heller's 1st CT fly-in. There were groups of CTs in formation all backlit by the morning sun. Anytime a wing went up and a CT began a turn there would be a rainbow made by the venting fuel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted December 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 So the moral is, if i ever want to shoot down a CT, pack a flare gun and wait to shoot until they turn? BTW, the Tecnam I trained in had the vents in the bottom of the wings, and when the tanks were full on a hot day the whole airplane smelled like a refinery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted December 5, 2013 Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 Anytime a wing went up and a CT began a turn there would be a rainbow made by the venting fuel. This would imply uncoordinated turns, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Cesnalis Posted December 5, 2013 Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 This would imply uncoordinated turns, right? Right, I have seen it happen with all CTSWs that I have flown with except mine. Now yellow fuel stains anywhere on my airframe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug G. Posted December 5, 2013 Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 Possibly the reason venting was changed on the CTLS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted December 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 So does this mean there is no point in fueling beyond ~30 gallons, as anything above that will likely end up on the ground? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Baker Posted December 5, 2013 Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 I normally only bring the fuel up to about 20 gallons unless I'm going somewhere, then I put on as much as I need until full. I don't worry to much about the little bit that goes out the vent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Baker Posted December 5, 2013 Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 One other thing to remember is if you have that much fuel, and have a flat tire while parked in tha hanger it will dump fuel out on the floor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted December 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 One other thing to remember is if you have that much fuel, and have a flat tire while parked in tha hanger it will dump fuel out on the floor. Like you Tom, I'm usually at 15-25 gallons. If I were taking a long trip I'd fill to capacity, but most of the time I try to keep it right at the top line on my sight tubes, which is 10 gallons per side. 30-34 gallons is also a lot of fire to get away from if something goes wrong on the runway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WmInce Posted December 5, 2013 Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 . . . "Like you . . . , I'm usually at 15-25 gallons. If I were taking a long trip I'd fill to capacity, but most of the time I try to keep it right at the top line on my sight tubes, which is 10 gallons per side." . . . Oh . . . sorta' like the RV-12? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted December 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 Oh . . . sorta' like the RV-12? Not exactly...in the CT I'm not sharing the cabin with all that fuel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WmInce Posted December 5, 2013 Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 Not exactly...in the CT I'm not sharing the cabin with all that fuel! Nice comeback! The point is well taken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S3flyer Posted December 5, 2013 Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 But very much like my Sting S3 which has 21.5g usable which has always met my mission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted December 5, 2013 Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 My Sky Arrow has 17.6 usable and got me and Karen and a modicum of baggage to Page, AZ and back (limiting ourselves to about 15.5 gals. to stay under gross). Albeit in 30+ legs*, but got to practice a lot of landings and meet a lot of nice people! *including all the side trips and weather avoidance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted December 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2013 The Sonex I was building only had a 16 gallon tank, I'm not going to make fun of anybody's fuel capacity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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