If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Fuel dump switch in homebuilt
After reading some of the transcripts from the "Last Words" website,
where the flight engineers were dumping fuel when it became evident that an emergecy landing was a certainty, it dawned on me that there might be some benefit for a small plane as well. The less energy you carry into a crash landing the better off you're going to be. And since KE is mv^2, you get a proportional benfit from dumping the weight of the fuel which might be 20% the weight of the airplane, and the lower weight allows for a slower stall speed which cuts the V factor, and since thats squared, it counts for a lot. And then of course you may have a larger glide radius with that reduction in weight in addition to the reduced fire potential upon landing and breakup Maybe a fuel selector switch that ports to a low pressure area near the tail would act as a light weight solution to draw out the fuel from the tanks. A safety wire that would have to be broken would be a good idea so it isn't accentally selected. Like the WEP setting on the WW2 fighters with water injection. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Yo! Fuel Tank! | Veeduber | Home Built | 15 | October 25th 03 02:57 AM |
Pumping fuel backwards through an electric fuel pump | Greg Reid | Home Built | 15 | October 7th 03 07:09 PM |
Homebuilt Aircraft Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | Ron Wanttaja | Home Built | 0 | October 2nd 03 03:07 AM |
Homebuilt Aircraft Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | Ron Wanttaja | Home Built | 4 | August 7th 03 05:12 AM |
Homebuilt Aircraft Frequently-Asked Questions (FAQ) | Ron Wanttaja | Home Built | 0 | July 4th 03 04:50 PM |