Van's Air Force
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fuel collector tank
- Thread starter grubac
- Start date
pierre smith
Well Known Member
??????
...Kindly explain..
Thanks,
...Kindly explain..
Thanks,
David Clifford
Well Known Member
Header tank?
N941WR
Legacy Member
Grubac,
I'm not sure why you want a collector tank AKA header tank but have you read this thread
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=50558?
I'm not sure why you want a collector tank AKA header tank but have you read this thread
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=50558?
Well, the aircraft I'm building has low-set wings and I've purchased an Andair boost pump to make sure fuel flow is always good. The idea with buying a header tank would be to avoid fuel starvation due to sloshing.
Am I wrong in thinking that this necessary? As far as I know, a header tank is basically an extra, small volume of fuel that is located downstream from the fuel selector (btw - I'm planning on just having one) that ensures that there's always a supply of fuel (even when fuel from the main tank may not be flowing temporarely due to sloshing or because the pilot is making a long tight turn).
Please advise if I'm looking at this the wrong way.
Grubac
Am I wrong in thinking that this necessary? As far as I know, a header tank is basically an extra, small volume of fuel that is located downstream from the fuel selector (btw - I'm planning on just having one) that ensures that there's always a supply of fuel (even when fuel from the main tank may not be flowing temporarely due to sloshing or because the pilot is making a long tight turn).
Please advise if I'm looking at this the wrong way.
Grubac
pierre smith
Well Known Member
Hi Grubac....
...My Air Tractor and Cessna Ag airplanes all have header tanks and only a "Both" or "Off" fuel selector position. The reason is so pilots don't run one tank empty with all the other duties involved.
Unles your airplane's belly is lower than the tanks, like the mentioned airplanes, I think you'll have difficulty in keeping much fuel in a header tank. RV's tanks are even with the belly and don't have header tanks.
Regards,
...My Air Tractor and Cessna Ag airplanes all have header tanks and only a "Both" or "Off" fuel selector position. The reason is so pilots don't run one tank empty with all the other duties involved.
Unles your airplane's belly is lower than the tanks, like the mentioned airplanes, I think you'll have difficulty in keeping much fuel in a header tank. RV's tanks are even with the belly and don't have header tanks.
Regards,
Is this for an RV type of aircraft ??
You mentioned that it was a low wing. Earlier RV-3 used a header tank, -4, -6, -7, -8, -9, -10 use wing tanks, and the -12 has a single high tank aft of the seats (could this be called a header tank??)
Sloshing of the fuel in the tank(s) that would un-port the fuel pickup is not an issue in coordinated flight. Other maneuvers that embrace skids, slips, and inverted flight are another matter. And for these aerobatic kinds of maneuvers, a flop tube in a header tank may work just as effectively as a flop tube in a wing tank.
You mentioned that it was a low wing. Earlier RV-3 used a header tank, -4, -6, -7, -8, -9, -10 use wing tanks, and the -12 has a single high tank aft of the seats (could this be called a header tank??)
Sloshing of the fuel in the tank(s) that would un-port the fuel pickup is not an issue in coordinated flight. Other maneuvers that embrace skids, slips, and inverted flight are another matter. And for these aerobatic kinds of maneuvers, a flop tube in a header tank may work just as effectively as a flop tube in a wing tank.
