tonyk@kaon.co.nz wrote:
>
> > it seems that there's a high % of
> > posts here re fuel problems and resultant builder mods and even
> > "un-mods." Unlike other kitplane email lists I've browsed.
>
> It would be interesting to find out how many people flying have _actually_ had
> a fuel problem or whether the redesigns are simply based on something that
> somebody "thinks" will resolve a problem that "may" be there.
>
> I very much suspect that the majority of Europas currently flying have the
> original fuel system layout and have logged thousands of hours between them
> without problems other than the one related to fuel tank swarf during early
> hours of operation...in which case the second filter comes in very handy!
>
> We had one clogged filter in 230 recorded hours and it looks like the filters
> in the aircraft had over 170 hours use on them as the filter change wasn't in
> the maintenance schedule. The maintenance schedule for this particular
> aircraft
> now includes a filter check and change.
My overall sentiments too, and the true spirit of homebuilding!
Except too soon to cite stats.
I have details for all 1998 U.S. accidents per NTSB and GAMA.
Excluding fuel mismanagement: For homebuilts, expect accident-causing
fuel starvation 1 in 75,000 hours (but kit-only data may be better).
For production A/C, though, once every 500,000 hours (using just hours
for singles & choppers, where all the incidents arose). But accident
data includes many old designs that wouldn't comply with current
standards.
This maybe supports all views? 75,000 is a lot of flyin', but the
comparative record ain't so good. So care in the build is not
unreasonable either, and in virtually all cases, diligent maintenance
and proper fueling practice would have prevented.
Regards,
Fred F.
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