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<< Lancair Builders' Mail List >>
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In a message dated 6/24/01 7:17:03 PM EST, kc16@qwest.net writes:
<< The discussion also confirms my decision to build my LNC2 with the header
tank and sight gauge. What could possibly be more simple and consequently
more trouble free?....I think the answer to that is....nothing. >>
One thing I've been uncomfortable about a header tank is that you have some
volume of fuel inside the fuselage. During a forced landing the tank might
rupture and spill raw fuel into the interior of the cabin with obvious bad
results if there is a fire.
Of course I don't know if this makes a difference when the wing tanks are
ruptured anyway. Is it possible to survive a fire by hiding out in a
composite fuselage while the spilt fuel outside burns off? Do the cabins of
these aircraft usually remain intact? I guess I need to check out the clip of
the Lionheart crash that was mentioned a while ago.
I witnessed a crash of a Bombardier Challanger regional jet on a test flight
last summer. The plane crashed just after liftoff. It only held a crew of
three and I think it was a short test flight, so I'm guessing it had a small
fuel load. You wouldn't believe the flames and smoke this thing produced.
The crew was trapped inside. One of the three guys was alive after the fire
was put out but he died several weeks later. It was horrible.
It kind of sensitized me to the horror of burning to death while trapped in
an airplane. Perhaps I am niave about a small header tank adding any real
risk of fire when there is already so much fuel in the wing tanks anyway. I
have certainly not studied crashes enough to say for sure.
Still, I might be tempted to come up with some way of quickly venting the
fuel from the header tank overboard if I did install one. Something like a
small yellow handle I could pull just before impact and know the tank will be
empty when I "touch down".
Paul Klusman
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Please send your photos and drawings to marvkaye@olsusa.com.
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