REFLECTOR: Fuel System install

Sat Jan 4 22:09:59 CST 2014

Here is a real life story about a FUEL EXHAUSTION near catastrophe:
I owned a Piper PA140 Super Cruiser based out of Oakdale Ca. I flew a night flight to Sacramento Metro to drop off a friend. At Sac Metro I saw my hanger neighbors plane. A Cessna 182 # 44X. As I was clearing the runway for takeoff I heard the tower clear 44X for departure. I called my neighbor 44X on the radio unicom and said lets see if he catches me before we get to our home base (90 Miles away). As I called in for a left downwind at Oakdale, 44X called in right behind me. And he being faster I asked him if he'd like me to turn out of the Pattern and let him pass. He said no that he will just slow down.
Next morning I went out to fly and went to the Fuel pumps to fill up. The FBO then told me a very scarry story. He had heard us speaking on the unicom the night before. Apparently he had an order to go fuel 44X earlier that morning, Upon looking at the top of 1 wing tank on 44X, he saw the cap was gone. He then looked into the tank and saw the bladder was pressed close to the top of the tank. He then went to the other tank (Cap was still in place) and removed the cap and saw the tank was almost empty. He then draind the fuel to see how much was left in that tank. 1 Quart of Fuel! 
Moral of the Story. Ck your fuel caps, then ck them again. My neighbor was 1 quart of 100LL from an off airport landing at night. An ugly feeling went thru me when I heard this story. I almost threw up.

Concerning our Velocity's - I wonder if on our planes if an inline anti backflow fuel valve that would not allow fuel to be siphoned back up into a tank might be a good idea. Just 2 simple anti backflow valves. No manual valves.
Any ideas?
Jeff

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On Friday, January 3, 2014 8:03 AM, Ron N VelocityXLFG <velocityxl at fastmail.fm> wrote:

Tough call, keep it simple with no valves or add complexity for a possible issue, both have merit.
>I do like the valve idea for the reason of removing sump tank with
    out draining the stakes. Had to do that once.
>But also this is not what I would call a regular activity and do not
    think it warrens the extra work ,cost ,complexity and risk .
>
>
>my 2 cents
>
>
>Ron
>
>
>On 1/3/2014 8:02 AM, Dave T Nelson wrote:
>
>Hi Glenn, 
>>
>>Regarding your first question, use of a fuel tank selector valve, you might want to check the canard aviators newsgroup logs as this was discussed much.  The net is, there is a real risk of fuel exhaustion if you choose to have both tanks flow into a common sump without a way to switch tanks.  The issue is, if you have a leak on one tank, you stand the risk of draining both tanks.  And this DOES happen... many folks through the years have failed to fully latch a fuel cap, had it come off in flight, and (depending on specific conditions), the fuel can exit that tank, and it can suck the fuel out of the opposite tank too.  It apparently can happen quickly.  This is one of the key reasons that all certified planes have a fuel selector valve.  Mike Melville wrote a very eloquent post on this topic, strongly recommending a valve.
>>
>>For the record, I didn't build my airplane with a valve (it's a STD-RG that I've had flying since 1997), so I am at risk for this situation.
>>  
>>Dave
>>
>>Dave T. Nelson
>>T/L 553-4327, Voice 507-253-4327, Fax 507-253-3648
>>Program Director, ISC ECAT NPI & Test Engineering
>>
>>
>>On Thu, Jan 2, 2014 at 11:53 PM, Glenn Falkenberg <airmech2 at gmail.com> wrote: Hi All
>>I have a two part question for the group on fuel system installation.  First what is the general thought on the use of a fuel tank selector valve.  Are their advantages or a necessity for using one?  What are the pros and cons?  Second does anyone have suggestions for installing the fuel feed line and strainer in the tank?  The manual says to just microglass the line in place and use a screen around the inlet.  I would like to use a more robust method, I.E. bulkhead fitting.  Any input is appreciated. 
>> Thanks
>>Glenn Falkenberg
>>
>> 
>>
>>
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