PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Pa28 - preflight actions - change to fuller tank
Old 19th Aug 2011, 22:59
  #40 (permalink)  
Pilot DAR
Moderator
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Ontario, Canada
Age: 63
Posts: 5,652
Received 86 Likes on 53 Posts
Nanchang CJ6A has two wing tanks but only a fuel on off valve
... and perhaps is not type certified to CAR 3, FAR 23, or their equivilents?

The danger is that an air lock can occur which will prevent fuel from reaching the engine. A similar situation can be experienced trying to start a heat soaked engine on a hot day.
Don't be too worried about this, the design requirement:


§ 3.429 General. The fuel system shall be constructed and arranged in a manner to assure the provision of fuel to each engine at a flow rate and pressure adequate for proper engine functioning under all normal conditions of operation, including all maneuvers and acrobatics for which the airplane is intended.

.....Would assure that the engine would restart, as being stopped from a dry tank would be a "normal condition" for the purposes of certification. If an engine will not restart from a dry tank, the plane will not be approved.

This is a reason why some injected types (IO-520 and 550) are purged with the fuel pump prior to starting. If vapour has formed in the injection lines while it sat hot, that vapour is purged. Same thing would happen if you'd run a tank dry, or turned the fuel off.
Pilot DAR is online now