Sender: <marv@lancaironline.net> (Marvin Kaye)
To: lml
Date: Mon, 05 Aug 2002 20:57:53 -0400
Message-ID: <redirect-1682770@logan.com>
From: "Ian B. Crowe" <ian.crowe@sympatico.ca>
Subject: Fuel feed practice/plumbing
Organization: Corvi Trade Consultants Inc
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Boy oh boy Neal have you stuck your hand into  a hornet's nest.

Lancair drivers love to expound on left throttle vs right throttle, header
tanks vs no header tanks, endlessly complicated systems for keeping the
header tank full and a variety of other topics almost sure to start another
Civil War or cause people to who are otherwise normal decent human beings to
become absolute demons of vituperative prose!  (Oh I forgot to spin or not
to spin, if that is the question)

Henry Ford said if you do not have it , it cannot go wrong or words to that
effect, so I say to perdition with the  the wretched header tank, who needs
it.  It provides the potential of a shifting centre of gravity, it needs
filling up and to do that all sort of weird and wonderful fail safe idiot
proof systems have been devised to ensure that the mentally challenged
driver does not have to think about fuel management, even if he can.  The
tank has no utility whatsoever.  It is in the way of all the gadgetry we
like to put behind the panel.  Life without it is wonderful.  You have all
the room in the world to put "things" and joy of joys you can arrange to
lift the lid off the whole gubbins, which makes maintenance a breeze.

It holds at most 10 gallons of fuel and that is not even the full sized
Imperial gallon but a shrunken US gallon!  One hours flying time.  Extend
the wing tanks which have an almost neutral C of G effect and get the 10
gallons back.

I am with you Neal who needs the header tank!  Mind you a friend of mine
built a Glasair and his fuel tanks were crossconnected by a permanently
installed balance pipe.  Fill the tanks and park it on an uneven surface and
guess what ,fuel ran out of the low point vent!  Peeing expensive fuel on
the ramp is antisocial.

So I am moved to remind you "To cast out the beam from your own eye before
you can perceive the mote in your brother's eye" or even maybe "Let him that
is without sin cast the first stone"

Seriously though Neal you are going to need a full suit of body armour to
defend yourself on this one.  Good Luck!!!

Standing by

Ian Crowe