>What I have done is purchase a Paraffin pump (10 quid - made in China)
>for a 44 gallon drum. I have a lead attached electrically to the pump
>casing which I connect to the exhaust stack (Luscombes are aluminium)
>or to the filler neck (when helping someone else out). Only then do I
>drop the pump (it has a steel standpipe) into the container of fuel and
>start pumping.
>
Good idea, but if a static charge has built up in the aircraft, surely this
would now be discharged via the pump standpipe to the fuel container which
is presumably in contact with the ground. The plane might survive the
explosion but I bet the fuel container would complain !. The addition of a
spike connected to the earth lead and pushed into the ground or connected
to some earth potential point first, would ensure the safe discharge of any
static from the a/c. before any fuel transfer.
Question - There are many ways static can build up in an a/c, fuel
movement, the skin of the a/c due to air friction, clothing rubbing on
seats etc. So presumably the entire a/c can become charged with static
electricity. Does this apply to plastic a/c in the same way as metal ones,
or are we only concerned with static build up in the fuel system on these.
Would a braid bonded to the fuel tank and then taken to an earthing tag be
a satisfactory solution, or assuming the tank is non conductive does the
fuel itself need to be discharged to earth via a conductor in direct
contact with it. - Any bright sparks out there got any ideas?
Jim Naylor No 39
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