Fire extinguisher; Yes? No? Really needed or?

[Michael Henning]

There was a Sonex that crashed a few weeks ago not too far from me. The guy had an inflight fire. Instead of the typical "crash and burn", he burned then crashed. I'm sure he would have survived with an extinguisher.

[longline]

Buy it, keep it handy. It has saved my butt, literally, more than once. Does not need to be huge, as Halon is very effective. Even an RV 8 has enough room for a small extinguisher.

It really is that good!

[RV7A Flyer]

Originally Posted by edneff

what about "multi-purpose dry chemical" extinguishers? They are very cheap. Any good?

In a word, NO. ABC-type extinguishers are corrosive to aluminum and avionics. BC-type is okay, but Halon is preferred.

Using an ABC type on a plane can, as I understand it, result in totalling the airframe AND ruining the avionics.

[MikeyDale]

I fought with this issue for some time, mostly because I couldn't figure out where I wanted to mount it. It needed to be in front because of cg issues but I didn't like it between the seats or on the pump cover. I finally came up with a way to mount it under the control cable bracket clamps under the sub panel. I used the same holes and longer screws holding the clamps and a few spacers. Only drawback is I will need to loosen my shoulder straps to reach it in case of a fire. When reaching for it, the first thing I feel is the latch releasing the extinguisher from the bracket. Big plus is forward cg and you can't really see it unless you duck down and look under the panel. Ive had it there for over a year and 100 hours.

[LettersFromFlyoverCountry]

Boy, you know, we add dozens of pounds to these things when building to guard against any possible situation. The fire extinguisher doesn't seem to me to be the line in the sand.

What's the real downside of having it? What's the downside of not having it?

BTW, it's a handy tool for smashing a canopy if you need to, also.

[rjtjrt]

Originally Posted by LettersFromFlyoverCountry

.........
BTW, it's a handy tool for smashing a canopy if you need to, also.

I have often wondered why someone has not added a slip on/glue on bottom to a fire extinguisher with a tough pointed end to make fire extinguisher into a canopy breaker as well.

[William]

Originally Posted by edneff

what about "multi-purpose dry chemical" extinguishers? They are very cheap. Any good?

Not the preferred extinguisher for the reasons stated above, BUT if it's one of those or nothing definitely add one. During a fire inflight in the cabin the last thing I'm worried about is the well being of the aircraft.

[RVDan]

Originally Posted by William

Not the preferred extinguisher for the reasons stated above, BUT if it's one of those or nothing definitely add one. During a fire inflight in the cabin the last thing I'm worried about is the well being of the aircraft.

If you have ever discharged a dry powder extinguisher and had the wind blow the powder back at you, you would understand that breathing this powder is downright disabling. I can't see how these things would ever be acceptable in a cockpit situation. I can say that during a practice event using a dry powder extinguisher as training the wind blew the powder back at a couple of us. It was almost painful to breath for about 5 minutes after getting some of this into our lungs.

Halon has its disadvantages also- it produced a lethal gas when heated in a fully involved fire situation, but is far less of a problem to use.

[RV6_flyer]

Originally Posted by LettersFromFlyoverCountry

Boy, you know, we had dozens of pounds to these things when building to guard against any possible situation. The fire extinguisher doesn't seem to me to be the line in the sand.

What's the real downside of having it? What's the downside of not having it?

BTW, it's a handy tool for smashing a canopy if you need to, also.

The downside of no fire extinguisher is the same downside as NO Reserve Fuel. Yes IF it were not against regulation, we could safely fly an airplane from point A to point B and have the engine stop running as we reach our parking spot without needing to turn ignition off or pull mixture to shut engine off. Yes it could be done safely without but if something goes wrong, we sure do not want to be without it.

I have had a HALON extinguisher since the airplane has been flying. The airplane has never flown without it.

[pa38112]

I have been on the fence on this one for a long time. I guess I am starting to think it is worth having. My hold-up has been that most fires are not going to be fightable from the cockpit. I would be adding a projectile for fighting an instrument panel fire. The components in the panel are suppose to self extinguish when the master is shut off. The FAA, Cessna, Piper, and others apparently do not believe they are necessary. For those that say "Definitely needed", do you also have:[list]
[/[*]Helmet[*]Parachute[*]Nomax Flight Suit[*]life preservers[*]Spare air[*]Survival gear[*]First Aid Kit[*]Hand Held Radio[*]Spot Tracker[*]Canopy Breaker[*]5 Point Harnesses
LIST]

One could make a compelling Definitely needed argument for all of these, and they have saved may lives.