Mailing List flyrotary@lancaironline.net Message #34821
From: Ernest Christley <echristley@nc.rr.com>
Subject: Re: [FlyRotary] Re: aluminum fuel tank in composite structure
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 11:22:44 -0500
To: Rotary motors in aircraft <flyrotary@lancaironline.net>
Lehanover@aol.com wrote:

In a message dated 12/19/2006 9:41:37 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, echristley@nc.rr.com writes:

    I'm working on a design for an aluminum fuel tank to go in my Delta.     It's a modification to the plans, so I'd like to do as much
    copying and
    as little 'designing' as possible.  Does anyone know of existing
    examples of aluminum tanks inbedded in composite structures?

I have a set of Delta plans, and was thinking more like a 22 gallon racing fuel cell in each stub wing rather than behind my  package shelf.
 
Lynn E. Hanover

Very good point.  I believe that Kelly has a setup like that.  I'm not fond of the idea, because:

-it will cause a substantial shift in the vertical CG.  The result will possibly be undectable, but not something that I'm comfortable gambling on.
-it will move away from the single-tank fuel management simplicity.   Everything I've heard puts the number of deaths attributed to mismanagement of available fuel far above those attributed to damaged tanks.

The plus side of the fuel cell solution would be that there are very high quality units available commercially that could be easily bolted on.

--
        ,|"|"|,              Ernest Christley       |
----===<{{(oQo)}}>===----    Dyke Delta Builder      |
       o|  d  |o        http://ernest.isa-geek.org  |
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