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Old 31st Aug 2002, 16:34
  #11 (permalink)  
Lu Zuckerman

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Question It's not my problem, it's yours.

Once again the certification authorities and the airframe manufacturer have placed the responsibility of safety on the pilots instead of correcting the problem with the installation of pumps that are changed in design to prevent the chafing of wires on the pump rotating parts. In addition according to several posts above the certification authority has suggested to the operators to maintain a level of fuel that would keep the pumps covered under all maneuvering conditions without stating the required fuel level for the center tanks of the respective aircraft effected.

Here is a system that was designed in the 1950s that catered to a similar but opposite situation. The forward tank on the S-58 was the primary feed tank for the engine with fuel being transferred to the forward tank from the other tanks. If the fuel transfer filled the tank and the pump was not shut off by the pilot the fuel would rise in a pipe outside of the helicopter until it hit a thermistor switch which would shut down the transfer pump.

Another means of taking the responsibility away from the pilot is to equip the fuel monitoring system with a sensor that would turn off the pump when the fuel level reached a predetermined level or at least provide a warning initiated by a preset in the fuel monitoring system.

All of the above IMHO.
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