That said there is no denying that aviation authorities have always insisted on engine accountability within their possible failure scenarios. There's none that I've come across that will allow the predication of fuel requirements post-OEI on the basis of the OEI fuel consumption.
Anyway it's always been the case that fuel planning arrangements are an operational facet of regulation - not a certification aspect. There is no doubt that the 169 fuel system complies otherwise it would not be certified but what is then required to meet the required operating standards is another matter.
My bet is that it would need a very strong case to find a way around the current rules and the jury is out on that pending publication of the necessary data in the Part 9 of the RFM. I still think we will see a mod at some stage and my guess is that it would be a low level connector pipe between the two tanks with a valve in the line and a switch in the cockpit. Light weight and simple.
The 169 is shaping up well and has the makings of another big success for the Helicopter Division of Finmeccanica. There are just a few wrinkles to smooth out along the way. One wrinkle to fix will be the company name as that's a bit of a mouthful as it stands, maybe 'HDF' will do it.
G.
