At 01:30 PM 6/11/2009, you wrote: >I think a large main tank is better that wing tanks. There is less total >weight involved and no need for a fuel pump which can fail. Use a lowered >vent system instead of a vented gas cap incase the plane is ever upside down >in a field. >-Joe ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
You may save a bit of weight on fittings and material but I'm guessing not more than a few pounds total. My concern with a 15? gallon header tank is not the fuel coming out a vent cap if the aircraft goes up side down. My concern is more along the lines of an electrical fire behind the panel or the tank coming apart in a crash landing and dumping 15 gallon of 100LL all over me and those sparking electrical wires that are being pulled apart behind the panel. When I smelled oil smoke in the KR cockpit last Saturday morning while preparing to land, I was very thankful that the 18 gallon of fuel on board was in the outer wing panel only. I guess this is one of those cases where everyone selects their own nightmare. The smoke in the cockpit was coming from an cracked 1/8" line to the pressure sending unit. It was leaking oil on the exhaust stack. I still haven't found my shorts back. Maybe they will pass eventually. :-) Larry Flesner
