PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - SR22 Crash - plane was upside down above the runway ?
Old 5th Dec 2007, 08:00
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IFollowRailways
 
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The Cirrus does use a "wet" wing.
It is wrong to draw conclusions from such a small sample, however, In my view the reason for the apparent increased incidence of post impact fires in Cirrus is that the tank is entirely fibreglass/GRP, unlike for example the Diamond tank which I understand is a conventional aluminium tank contained within the wing.

I think it is likely that in a severe impact that the GRP tank in a Cirrus will burst or split, spilling fuel just where you don't want it. Even a crack will result in a fuel leak......

A conventional aluminium tank is less likely to rupture and in my view Cessnas, Pipers, Mooneys etc all use aluminium tanks for good reasons.
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