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Old 19th Jan 2013, 18:11
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dirkdj
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Belgium
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awk,

you got it right. Another item to remember on the M231: if ever you run a tank dry in the air and switch to the fuller tank (no big deal), there will be air in the fuel-line between the empty tank and the fuel selector. Filling the emtpy tank to the brim will not remove this pocket of air, you have to use the fuel drain to get rid of this air.

Failure to do this can have very dramatic results: a friend of mine found out the very hard way: with less than 5 hours on new prop and overhauled engine (after prop strike on rough grass field) he switched to the fullest tank just before entering the runway. The engine ran just long enough to get him climbing, retracting the gear and then the air in the line reached the engine. Very hard landing, gear up, on the last 10 meters of the runway, he spent six months in a hospital bed before he could learn to walk again, very slowly. There is very little structure below the fronts seats to 'give' in case of a hard landing on the belly.

Moral: start on one tank, taxi, then switch and remain on the other tank before power checks. We have run dry a tank on an M231 and I estimate it took about 30 seconds before we had power back after switching tanks.
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