Transporting fuel by Underslung Load

[Adam Nams]

Can I draw on the collective wisdom of the Rotorheads for any information on the practical use, pros and cons, purchase and maintenance costs etc of using any of the air portable fuel containers/systems that are available on the market.

Any advice or recommendations gratefully received.
Thanks in anticipation.

[TimTooWindy]

Depending on your helicopter type, it's a standard sealed 200l drum multiplied by how many it can carry in a net..... it works for me.

Regards.
TTW

[500guy]

All I have ever disel tanks for construction sites. They were about 400 gallon bulk pakages. I have seen columbia and others have giant bladders (about 12'by 8' by4'. It has to be at least 2000 gallons, likely flown by chinooks to remote lzs.
In the us you need a will carry manual and a DOT special permit to transport any hazmat via external load.

[hueyracer]

Depends on what you want to use it for...

For occassional jobs or the "cheap" solution some drums are fine...

I used to work with turtle pacs, and they are awesome (air droppable as well)....

What are you looking at doing?

[Adam Nams]

Thanks for all of the replies.
We currently use the '45 UK gallon (200 litre) drums in nets' option to transport diesel to remote locations every few weeks - so a regular task.
I am just looking at what other options are available (turtle pack, fuel easy etc) when comparing costs of equipment, time taken to offload fuel, transport empties back etc etc.
Thanks again in anticipation.

[Nubian]

Trailer engineering in the UK have 950liter double-walled dieseltanks which flies great and can be stacked if neccesary. Can be fitted with fuel pumps, manual and electric as an option. Closed off with a lockable lid.

Otherwise barrel-slings/hooks work much better than a net and take up a lot less space when you pack it in the hold.

[ShyTorque]

Memories of the APFC "£@llocks" we used to fly out to pre-position Jet fuel for our helis in Belize. Then find we used to need to upload half the contents to fly back again....

(Not to mention the Plover Cove to Ping Chau diesel drum stock resupply flights, which are a lot closer to Adam Nam's neck of the woods).

[newfieboy]

Agree with Nubian, barrel slings a lot better than nets, especially picking up/dropping drums in the bush.
I'm also a bit wary using nets for full drums. The sharp rim can cut through the net,especially when rolling drums into it on uneven surfaces like a gravel ramp. I know, twenty years ago I lost 4 drums through the bottom of a net that failed. Was quite the clean up......

[Cyclic Hotline]

There are many answers to your question, and they mainly depend upon a number of variables;
1. How much fuel are you hauling?
2. How far are you hauling it?
3. What is the lift capacity of your machine?
4. What is the fuel consumption of your machine?
5. Is this a regular event?
6. Is it a fuel cache?
7. Do you have pumps, power, facilities, people where you are fueling?

I ask this because in the range of solutions are blivets, barrels, fly-away tanks, fixed wing tankers (C-46, DC-4, C130, AT-802, etc), fixed wing freight hauler (C-206 and up} or anything else. I'm sure your solution may be more easily solvable, but there are a huge range of options out there.

[Nubian]

Originally Posted by Cyclic Hotline

1. How much fuel are you hauling?
2. How far are you hauling it?
3. What is the lift capacity of your machine?
4. What is the fuel consumption of your machine?
5. Is this a regular event?
6. Is it a fuel cache?
7. Do you have pumps, power, facilities, people where you are fueling?

I think he did mention several answers in his second post...

We currently use the '45 UK gallon (200 litre) drums in nets' option to transport diesel to remote locations every few weeks - so a regular task.

I've flown to many different locations with a variety of tanks and barrels to support radio-relay stations and emergency backup generators. If you have a holdingtank at this location a simple IBC tank is doing the job and is cheap, but you should not keep fuel stored over time in sunlight due to risk of growing diesel bacteria.

Trailer engineering and Fuelproof both has a variety of tanks of various size that can be flown.

[Adam Nams]

Many thanks for all the replies which are much appreciated.

[jimf671]

If this is really such a regular thing then is it worth using two bunded tanks and changing them out at intervals?

- environmentally secure bunded container in remote location
- proper lifting points
- easy closure
- more difficult to steal