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Type Fire Extinguisher Inside
- Thread starter Karetaker
- Start date
Halon or Halotron is about all I could find. I have both types.
Well you definitely don't want corrosive powder type. Here are a couple of options.
www.sportys.com
Small Halotron Fire Extinguisher
Halotron fire extinguishers are perfect for the cockpit. Halotron leaves no residue, doesn't corrode expensive avionics or other aircraft parts, doesn't impair vision and doesn't freeze surfaces.
www.sportys.com
I work in the fire protection industry. I would stay away from the Element extinguisher for aircraft.
Aerosol extinguishing systems work great as long as you don't need to see anything when it discharges in an enclosed environment (like a cockpit). I've discharged a few aerosol systems. When you activate it in an enclosed space, you will not be able to see 6 inches in front of you. The other great and bad thing about it is that the chemical has an almost neutral buoyancy. That means it will linger in the air for a very long time. At least 20 minutes. During which time you won't be able to see. That's why it works so good.
When you operate a normal pressurized fire extinguisher, you can control how much agent is discharged when you operate the lever. When you operate the Element extinguisher, it works like a flare. Once you start it, there's no stopping it until it burns itself out.
The other drawback is that the potassium salt crystals are very fine and corrosive. It will get everywhere. One of our competitors installed an aerosol system in a server room. The system discharged and ruined all of the servers because the potassium ended up getting on the circuit boards and corroded them. It was a $200K insurance hit.
The only extinguishers that are worth having in the cockpit are halon or halotron. Those do not cause vision issues or corrosion problems.
Watch the video of it in an enclosed space. That's what it will be like with the canopy closed....
https://elementfire.com/blogs/element-in-action-1/element-fire-extinguisher-test-enclosed-area
According to the Element website:
How Element Operates
Element is a manual, portable fire extinguisher. It uses a Potassium salt jet (a unique method among fire extinguishers) that employs the vaporization of the salt in the environment followed by the condensation of its extinguishing substance. Element works by interrupting a fire’s chain of reaction (the “auto-catalyst” of the fire).Element is composed of stable, solid minerals; it does not contain gas and is not pressurized. The aerosol-like jet is only produced when the charger is struck with its base. The produced jet is free of thrust and is essentially an inert salt that emits gas already present in the atmosphere.
Those are great points and I thought about this before I switched. I manage the risk. I don’t carry a fire extinguisher for use in the cockpit. While there is a remote chance of an electrical caused fire, that can be managed.
My concern is engine fires, brake related fires, etc… These are by far the most common, albeit still extremely rare. No portable extinguisher can do anything about that in the air. If there was an intense and long enough fire to burn through the firewall or lower fuselage, I’ll set that sucker off and take my chances if my feet are on fire. At that point things entered the worst case scenario realm, and not sure any extinguisher would be of much good here either. You have to get to the source of the fire to put it out.
Still appreciate the warning.
My concern is engine fires, brake related fires, etc… These are by far the most common, albeit still extremely rare. No portable extinguisher can do anything about that in the air. If there was an intense and long enough fire to burn through the firewall or lower fuselage, I’ll set that sucker off and take my chances if my feet are on fire. At that point things entered the worst case scenario realm, and not sure any extinguisher would be of much good here either. You have to get to the source of the fire to put it out.
Still appreciate the warning.
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For the Original Poster, I’d suggest doing a search on “Halon” and/or “Halotron” here on the site - this has been discussed over and over again over the years, and there is lots of good information, and many different opinions.
Personally, I only carry Halon in the cockpit - it’s what we used for enclosed spacecraft. As a former firefighter (25 years in the volunteer fire service), I’ve got plenty of experience with fire, and it is NEVER a good thing in an enclosed space - but I don’t want to add to a bad situation without something that will reduce visibility or make the atmosphere less breathable. I carry the in cockpit extinguisher for electrical fires - and pretty much that is it. If I get a fire in the engine compartment, no handheld bottle is going to do more than if you turn the fuel valve off.
Best safety briefing I have ever had before an aircraft ride was in an Army helicopter. The young crew chief pointed out the cabin fire extinguisher behind the pilot’s seat and said “use it to put the people out - the aircraft will burn forever!”
There is a valid argument of whether an in cockpit extinguisher is useful or necessary…given the scenarios you might run in to.
Paul
Personally, I only carry Halon in the cockpit - it’s what we used for enclosed spacecraft. As a former firefighter (25 years in the volunteer fire service), I’ve got plenty of experience with fire, and it is NEVER a good thing in an enclosed space - but I don’t want to add to a bad situation without something that will reduce visibility or make the atmosphere less breathable. I carry the in cockpit extinguisher for electrical fires - and pretty much that is it. If I get a fire in the engine compartment, no handheld bottle is going to do more than if you turn the fuel valve off.
Best safety briefing I have ever had before an aircraft ride was in an Army helicopter. The young crew chief pointed out the cabin fire extinguisher behind the pilot’s seat and said “use it to put the people out - the aircraft will burn forever!”
There is a valid argument of whether an in cockpit extinguisher is useful or necessary…given the scenarios you might run in to.
Paul
Ha! Great post Paul.
The one I carry in the biplane is of no concern but I’ll think more on the type in the RV.
Sam Buchanan
been here awhile
I have an Element in the cockpit but the primary reason is for a fueling fire. However, I have a tip-up canopy and I would not hesitate to unlatch it if there was an inflight fire in the cockpit so serious I needed the Element. The draft due to the tip up riding open several inches is significant. I took off once with an unlatched canopy so am familiar with the airflow....... 
BTW, this will fit center console (AeroSport) of an RV-10 along with 2 Bose headset controllers.
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