What is the tank of a Pietenpol made of? I think the fiberglass tank of most KRs is part of the problem, because they crack or even shatter in an impact. An aluminum tank is better, because they usually dent rather than shatter.
But probably a polyethylene tank would be best of all. These are flexible, and a dent will pop back into shape after an impact. Almost all modern cars use them. But I don't think there's a practical way to make these at home, so you'd have to find a commercial tank you could use. Mike Taglieri On Wed, Dec 23, 2020, 12:45 AM Oscar Zuniga via KRnet <krnet@list.krnet.org> wrote: > If you've been around either the CorvAircraft or Pietenpol groups for any > length of time, you've more than likely heard about William Wynne's > experience with fuel in the cockpit. The original design for the high-wing > parasol Pietenpol Air Camper has the fuel tank in the centersection of the > wing, directly over the cockpits, with a fuel line leading down into the > cockpit from the tank, along one of the cabane struts, and then forward to > the engine through the firewall. Most builders end up with something like > 12-14 gallons of fuel capacity up there, and it provides great gravity feed > to the engine for a simple fuel system and a couple of hours of endurance. > William was the passenger in his aircraft (front cockpit) when the pilot > stalled it in a low-altitude turn and it spun in and crashed. In the > crash, the wing shifted forward and the structure collapsed enough to > rupture the fuel line coming down from the tank, and William and the plane > were doused in fuel with no way to stop the flow. Despite having his > clothing on fire, he got out of the airplane somehow, pulled the pilot out > of the rear cockpit and away from the plane, rolled on the ground enough to > stop his clothing from burning, and survived the crash but spent a lot of > time in hospital and with many skin grafts and rehabilitation. The > airplane burned to a crisp, although William later recovered the engine > after the FAA and NTSB had their time with it. > > My Air Camper has a 16 gallon fuel tank up in front of the passenger, > under the cowling behind the firewall. So, while a fuel leak from my tank > wouldn't normally get on me till it flowed aft to the pilot's cockpit, it > really won't matter because gasoline burns hot and fast, and so do > glued-together wooden airplanes with fabric covering. For somewhat of a > simulation of that kind of scenario, view a little 1:30 video of a fellow > splashing some gasoline on a brush pile and lighting it off. The link is > below. My Air Camper would most likely burn as rapidly as the brush pile > in the video. Notice the quantity of gasoline that is splashed onto the > brush pile and on the little "fuse" that he sets fire to. Couple of > gallons tops, right? Isn't that just a little 2 or 2.5 gallon jug he > has?. My airplane holds 16 gallons and will make a big, hot fire if it > gets out of the tank and catches fire. How much will your KR's fuel tank > hold? > > Here's a link to the video- https://youtu.be/Hi7tZVV-o8A . Notice that > it's not just where he pours the gasoline that burns... it's where the > vapor gets out to, and if there is any wind or any motion around spilling > gasoline, the vapor can be burning energetically a fair distance away from > where the liquid is. The stuff is unforgiving, you won't do much to it > with a little portable extinguisher or even with one of the larger ones > that they tote around on golf carts at fly-ins. As has already been > written here, educate yourself on the risks, choose how you will arrange > your fuel in your airplane, know the upsides and downsides, and most of > all- treat gasoline with a lot of respect. And as a disclaimer about why I > am interested in this, I am a fire protection engineer. I fly a plane with > what amounts to a bomb up in the cockpit in front of me but it's a welded > aluminum tank with a brass shutoff valve and braided 3/8" fuel hose feeding > out of it through a stainless steel firewall to the gascolator up front. > No barbed fittings, no plastic fittings, no plastic tubing. I understand > my risks and you should understand yours. > > Oscar Zuniga > Medford,OR > > _______________________________________________ > Search the KRnet Archives at > https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. > Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. > see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change > options. > To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org > _______________________________________________ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
