Originally Posted by
Dora-9
On the DC9, if you disarmed the Volumetric Top-off Units you could then keep fuelling until it started losing fuel through the vents - that way you could squeeze an additional 200/300 lbs, which you desperately needed going Adelaide - Perth.
In a previous life as a refueller we did this routinely to our KingAirs when the pilots told us they needed max possible range. Granted it wasn't an extra 300lbs, but you could squeeze in an extra 100lbs or so if you trickle filled it and waggled the wings to compress the oleos and level the aircraft laterally, then came back to your original tank and filled it level to the wing skin. Occasionally we'd refuel early in the day, they'd be delayed getting away and you'd see the aircraft piddling fuel out the vents around morno's.
One poor refueler, at Mt Isa I think it was found out the hard way that the oleos can compress suddenly and without warning when they did so onto his portable ladder, leaving a not-insignificant dent in the lower leading edge of one of our B200's under the boot.
