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fuel shut off handle

dick seiders

Well Known Member
Found I had to put an offset handle on shut off valve to hit the slot on the floor pan. Anyone else have to do this? Curious.
Dick
 
Hey Dick

Sounds like you have the handle on the wrong side of the lever on the actual valve.

John Bender
 
Fixed it today guys, thanks for the feedback. It turns out the arm on the valve was bent away from valve about 20 degrees throwing the actuating arm out of alignment with the floor pan. I straightend the arm and it lined up fine.
Dick
 
Can you reach the red knob?

There was an article by Mike Bush in a recent issue of Sport Aviation about a pilot who had to make a forced landing in a Lancair, I believe. The pilot could not reach the fuel shut off valve, so he unfastened his seat-belt to operate the valve. He did not have time to refasten it before the crash. The pilot was killed when his head hit the instrument panel.
After reading that article, I sat in my RV-12 with the shoulder harness and seat belt fastened to see if I could reach the red knob of the fuel valve handle. Yes, I can reach it. Other pilots might want to see if the fuel shut off valve handle is within their reach.
Joe Gores
 
Joe, checked it out today and found I can operate it while strapped in. Clearly a an issue for short arms or long torso tho.
Dick Seiders
 
There was an article by Mike Bush in a recent issue of Sport Aviation about a pilot who had to make a forced landing in a Lancair, I believe. The pilot could not reach the fuel shut off valve, so he unfastened his seat-belt to operate the valve. He did not have time to refasten it before the crash. The pilot was killed when his head hit the instrument panel.
After reading that article, I sat in my RV-12 with the shoulder harness and seat belt fastened to see if I could reach the red knob of the fuel valve handle. Yes, I can reach it. Other pilots might want to see if the fuel shut off valve handle is within their reach.
Joe Gores

Just remember John Denver. Very good advice to sit in your plane and make sure you can operate everything with your seat belt on.
 
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