>A comment about using a primer to keep an engine running with injector or
>carb failure reminded me of a simple emergency fuel system we used in
>various aircraft in jungle flying that totally replaced all pumps,
>filters, control valves, pressure carb or float carb systems, etc. It
>uses the venturi in the carb, a stainless fuel line with an orifice
>outlet the same size as your jet in the carb, a simple (brake parking)
>valve controlled by a vernier knob on the instrument panel and an extra
>line from the header tank to the carb. It worked great. I flew a Helio
>for a few years with this system and would check it every week. Pulling
>out the vernier knob would turn on the emergency fuel. I shut off the
>main fuel valve and adjusted the emergency fuel flow to maintain the
>power setting I wanted. Always worked. Seemed strange to fly along with
>the whole normal fuel system shut down.
I mentioned this thread to another pilot a few
weeks ago on a business trip. He told me of a
system installed in an amateur built airplane
with which he was not familiar. What he described
to me sounded like a Falco. The builder didn't like
the fuel selector valves available at the that
time. Decided to plumb his engine into the right
wing tank with no selector valve. He used an
electric pump on the left tank to pump fuel to
the right during the flight. He had a second
pump draining from a separate outlet on the left
tank that fed a similarly architectured emergency
fuel delivery system to the engine. His fuel
management consisted of two switches, only one
of which was normally used in flight with a
second switch to back up the primary fuel delivery
path. Normal operation called for transfering just
enough fuel to keep the unbalance inacceptable
limits so that the left tank always had more fuel
in it than the right.
Now, if he just took care of his battery and
replaced it when capacity dropped below a level
necessary to sustain flight for duration fuel,
I'd consider the system to be pretty robust!
Bob . . .
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