3 ms·
TIL. There's still a problem that running the engine till fuel starvation is not exactly a practical option, but then arguably you could make it so that standa
by p_l 4y ago
TIL.
There's still a problem that running the engine till fuel starvation is not exactly a practical option, but then arguably you could make it so that standard shut down depended on at-tank cut off valve (going to make certification a PITA). And of course you can't reuse original fuel runs because for majority of aircraft, the tank won't fit where existing tanks are.
I'm still unconvinced that you could avoid considerable reconstruction of the fuel lines - there are reasons why propane/LPG have different hazard classification, and what is easily allowed on a ground vehicle can be a big nope in an airplane.
On the more practical side, it would be dead in the water from legal issues - you'd have to recertify the plane, possibly deal with the fact that there's AFAIK no preexisting baseline for certification, and unlike 100UL you'd also add pilot & mechanic retraining - at this point you might have better ROI by shooting for the stars and going the cryogenic hydrogen route. While there are some CNG & LPG conversions around, pretty much everything seems to fall under experimental classification - something wildly different from the goal of getting G100UL declared fully equivalent to AVGAS 100LL, which would allow everyone to just switch supply.
- Gordonjcp 4y agoWell in an automotive install you'd have a shutoff valve at the tank multivalve that you can physically screw shut, and a solenoid valve to allow fuel out to the line. Then up front there will be a filter and safety valve with another solenoid valve, and finally a solenoid on the vapouriser too. If I want to take a vapouriser off I'd just unplug the solenoid for the safety valve, start the engine, let it cut out, and then unscrew the pipe. Similarly if I wanted to work on the safety valve, I'd shut the tank off and let it empty the line running to the back of the car. The gas lines we use now are thin nylon with a tough PVC jacket over them, about as thick as a pencil (6mm inside bore) and flexible enough to tie your boots with ;-) It's a long way from stiff fragile copper line.