If you've ever seen a post-crash fire kill someone, or if you have ever
lost friends or family in a post-crash fire, or if you even smelled
smoke in the cockpit, you might have an idea why some people regard fuel
in the wings as safer than a fuel tank in the fuselage. I saw it happen
right in front of me, a crash on final, one occupant - the CFI - got
out, and the student died in the fire. It's hard to imagine the amount
of energy released by a gasoline fire until you see a big one. A couple
who were friends of my wife and I were killed when flying in a homebuilt
with the common tank-between-panel-and-firewall setup. They experienced
a loss of power and he landed in a highway median. The grass obscured
some large rocks which stopped the airplane hard on rollout and ruptured
the fuel tank, resulting in the fatal fire. Witnesses said the airplane
was not moving very fast when it stopped.
My aviation mentor, who had thousands of hours of military and general
aviation flying in everything from mid-50s interceptors to tankers to
WWII warbirds to J-3s to twins to gliders, including over one hundred
DIFFERENT homebuilts, and investigated accidents while in the USAF,
seemed to think fuel in wing tanks was significantly safer than in the
fuselage. Don't let someone else make up your mind for you by arguing
for or against relative merits. Make your own decision using YOUR best
judgement and considering all available options, without falling for The
One True Way. I know how I'm going to build my own fuel system.
Chris K
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