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WurlyBird

Joined: 16 May 2008
Posts: 207
Location: North Pole, Alaska

Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 4:23 pm Post subject: sight glass fuel indicator?

I am happy to announce that I have finally purchased a Kitfox III that will be waiting for me when I get home from Afghanistan.  My buddy that did the test flight and inspection for me indicated that there were no fuel gauges on the wing tanks, 6 gal variety.  John McB has told me to check if there were holes that were covered because he thinks there might have been some on that style fuel tank but he had never seen an install done after assembly.  For right now I am guessing worst case and assuming there is not.  Has anyone ever installed or seen/heard of an installation of a sight glass or sight tube type fuel gauge after the plane was assembled?  Right now I am thinking that it should not be too hard besides having to work partially through the fuel cap opening and ensuring no debris remains in the tank.  Am I completely wrong?  Is there a good kit or specific sealant for something like this?  Any information will be a great help.  Thanks



James

_________________
James
Kitfox 3 / 582 / 70" IVO 2 blade GA
50 hrs on the 582 swapping for HKS 700E and Avid Cowl.

Paul A. Franz, P.E.

Joined: 02 Dec 2008
Posts: 280
Location: Bellevue WA

Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 5:57 pm Post subject: sight glass fuel indicator?

On Fri, December 5, 2008 4:23 pm, WurlyBird wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		   



 My buddy that did the test flight and

 inspection for me indicated that there were no fuel gauges on the wing tanks...


	


You might not need to go to the trouble of installing a sight glass on the wing tanks.

The header tank may be large enough for a comfortable reserve. You might be able to

see the fuel in a clear line coming from a wing tank and if the header tank holds

enough for your reserve requirement then that could be sufficient. You could also

install a low fuel alarm in the header tank. Some of the header tanks hold half an

hour or more reserve.



You might also talk to the previous owner and find out what his procedure was.



-- 

Paul A. Franz

Registration/Aircraft - N14UW/Merlin GT

Engine/Prop - Rotax 914/NSI CAP

Bellevue WA

425.241.1618 Cell

_________________
Paul A. Franz, P.E.
Registration/Aircraft - N14UW/Merlin GT
Engine/Prop - Rotax 914/NSI CAP
Bellevue WA
425.241.1618 Cell
425.440.9505 Office

Tom Jones

Joined: 12 Mar 2006
Posts: 752
Location: Ellensburg, WA

Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 8:11 pm Post subject: Re: sight glass fuel indicator?

 	  Quote: 	
		  Has anyone ever installed or seen/heard of an installation of a sight glass or sight tube type fuel gauge after the plane was assembled? Right now I am thinking that it should not be too hard besides having to work partially through the fuel cap opening and ensuring no debris remains in the tank. Am I completely wrong? Is there a good kit or specific sealant for something like this? Any information will be a great help. Thanks 



James 	




James, you are correct.  The worst case is you will have to drill and tap the two holes to install the site gage.  The main Issue will be getting all the debris out of the tank.  A trick is to grease the drill bit so the debris stick to it.  An adapter on a shop vac would probably work but you may get the "Big Bang" from fuel fumes.



Quarter inch polyurathane fuel line and brass fittings (pipe thread to hose barb).  Seal with a fuel proof non harding sealer.

_________________
Tom Jones
Classic IV
503 Rotax, 72 inch Two blade Warp
Ellensburg, WA

Guy Buchanan

Joined: 16 Jul 2006
Posts: 1204
Location: Ramona, CA

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 12:01 am Post subject: sight glass fuel indicator?

At 04:23 PM 12/5/2008, you wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		  Right now I am thinking that it should not be too hard besides 

having to work partially through the fuel cap opening and ensuring 

no debris remains in the tank.  Am I completely wrong?


	


James,

         Congratulations and welcome! I don't think you'll have to 

get out your ship-in-a-bottle tools. I installed tank vents inboard 

after-the-fact by first getting access through the butt rib. I then 

used my Dremel to sand a 1 1/2" diameter area down to the glass. I 

left it rough because I then epoxied a 1 1/4" diameter 1/4" thick 

G-10 plate to the tank. I could then drill and tap this plate for a 

1/8 NPT to barb fitting to which I attached my valve. You could do 

the same top and bottom for the level ports. (Of course you have to 

flush the tanks well after doing so.) You won't get your ports right 

up against the top and bottom of the tank. To do that would require 

you to lay-up your own reinforcements so they go around the corner; a 

much harder job.

Guy Buchanan

San Diego, CA

K-IV 1200 / 582-C / Warp / 100% done, thanks mostly to Bob Ducar.

_________________
Guy Buchanan
Deceased K-IV 1200
A glider pilot too.

Lynn Matteson

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 2778
Location: Grass Lake, Michigan

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 4:36 am Post subject: sight glass fuel indicator?

A bigger "worse case" in my mind is whether you will be drilling into  

an area that has not been sufficiently thickened with fiberglas so as  

to provide a boss into which more than just a couple of threads can  

be tapped. If those tanks weren't designed...at that particular  

area...for the installation of the threaded nipples, you won't have  

any holding power. Of course, you can always build up the area with  

fiberglas and resin first.



Lynn Matteson

Kitfox IV Speedster, taildragger

Jabiru 2200, #2062, 593hrs

Sensenich 62x46

flying again after rebuild, and new Electroair direct-fire ignition  

system;

also building a new pair of snow skis





On Dec 5, 2008, at 11:11 PM, Tom Jones wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   

> Has anyone ever installed or seen/heard of an installation of a  

> sight glass or sight tube type fuel gauge after the plane was  

> assembled? Right now I am thinking that it should not be too hard  

> besides having to work partially through the fuel cap opening and  

> ensuring no debris remains in the tank. Am I completely wrong? Is  

> there a good kit or specific sealant for something like this? Any  

> information will be a great help. Thanks

>

> James

 James, you are correct.  The worst case is you will have to drill  

 and tap the two holes to install the site gage.  The main Issue  

 will be getting all the debris out of the tank.  A trick is to  

 grease the drill bit so the debris stick to it.  An adapter on a  

 shop vac would probably work but you may get the "Big Bang" from  

 fuel fumes.



 Quarter inch polyurathane fuel line and brass fittings (pipe thread  

 to hose barb).  Seal with a fuel proof non harding sealer.



 --------

 Tom Jones

 Classic IV

 503 Rotax, 72 inch Two blade Warp

 Ellensburg, WA





 Read this topic online here:



 http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p 17869#217869

_________________
Lynn
Kitfox IV-Jabiru 2200
N369LM

Beemer

Joined: 26 Aug 2006
Posts: 87
Location: Middle Georgia

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 5:35 am Post subject: sight glass fuel indicator?

James,

There's no need to thread anything into the fiberglass. Drill holes at the

very top and bottom, and epoxy in short aluminum tubes to which you will

attach the clear tubing. Threads suck in this application most of the time,

and they leak, get cross threaded easily, and will strip out about the third

time you pull the tubing off of them. 



You can also get some float fuel senders and install them in the root

surface of the tank. Then, there are about a 100 fuel level gauges available

to hook them up to. My EFIS takes the fuel level and readings from the fuel

flow sender, and gives me a rough calculation of the airplanes range and

time to empty at that speed. It's only an estimate, but it's useful for

planning. You can get a similar instrument for about $250. Or a couple of

fuel level gauges for $50.



Whatever you do, be aware that gasoline is about the hardest stuff

imaginable to seal against, as 95% of the sealants available are not

compatible. ProSeal is very compatible, but is prohibitively expensive. JB

Weld is good, as is the "clay" type tank repair epoxy available at auto

parts stores. Most all RTV type sealants are not usable for gasoline.



My option would be to drill close tolerance holes, press in 1/4 inch tubes

with JB Weld, and thoroughly flush the tanks with 1000 gallons of water.



Bradley



[quote] --

_________________
Beemer
KF2 (and now an M3!)
Suzuki G10 three-banger
Middle Georgia

Lynn Matteson

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 2778
Location: Grass Lake, Michigan

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 8:23 am Post subject: sight glass fuel indicator?

Regarding thread stripping....if you drill and thread to 1/4" NPT,  

and install 1/4 NPT-to-1/8 NPT reducing bushings, you'll only have to  

install into the tank one time. I'd prefer this method to tubing  

which is epoxied in place...too little mechanical grip with this  

method, but that's just me.



Lynn Matteson

Kitfox IV Speedster, taildragger

Jabiru 2200, #2062, 593hrs

Sensenich 62x46

flying again after rebuild, and new Electroair direct-fire ignition  

system;

also building a new pair of snow skis





On Dec 6, 2008, at 8:26 AM, Bradley Webb wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   



 James,

 There's no need to thread anything into the fiberglass. Drill holes  

 at the

 very top and bottom, and epoxy in short aluminum tubes to which you  

 will

 attach the clear tubing. Threads suck in this application most of  

 the time,

 and they leak, get cross threaded easily, and will strip out about  

 the third

 time you pull the tubing off of them.

_________________
Lynn
Kitfox IV-Jabiru 2200
N369LM

dgolden(at)golden-consult
Guest

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 8:51 am Post subject: sight glass fuel indicator?

WurlyBird wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		   

 <james.t.trizzino(at)us.army.mil>

 

 I am happy to announce that I have finally purchased a Kitfox III

 that will be waiting for me when I get home from Afghanistan.  My

 buddy that did the test flight and inspection for me indicated that

 there were no fuel gauges on the wing tanks, 6 gal variety.  John McB

 has told me to check if there were holes that were covered because he

 thinks there might have been some on that style fuel tank but he had

 never seen an install done after assembly.  For right now I am

 guessing worst case and assuming there is not.  Has anyone ever

 installed or seen/heard of an installation of a sight glass or sight

 tube type fuel gauge after the plane was assembled?  Right now I am

 thinking that it should not be too hard besides having to work

 partially through the fuel cap opening and ensuring no debris remains

 in the tank.  Am I completely wrong?  Is there a good kit or specific

 sealant for something like this?  Any information will be a great

 help.  Thanks

 

 James


	


James,



When I bought my Speedster kit, I also got the mechanical fuel gauge

kit. It installs entirely from the outside of the tank. You might check

with John McB to see if they are still available. If not, you can get

the gauge from Aircraft Spruce and I have the instructions.



Dennis

-- 

Dennis Golden

Golden Consulting Services, Inc.

JetPilot

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 1246

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 3:07 pm Post subject: Re: sight glass fuel indicator?

I would not drill into the tank, it seems you are asking for trouble.  I would go with the fuel indicator in the reserve tank..  If you had to have a fuel indicator, then I would get an electronic one so that you wont have problems with leaks, etc... 



Seems like a lot of trouble and problems just to have sight tubes on the tank.  Leaks from holes below the gas line can be a problem..  You will never be able to drill into a plastic tank and keep all the debris out, I know that from experience.   Even after having the tank out, sloshing, rinsing, sloshing with gasoline several times, I still get bits of plastic in the gascolator in my other airplane.  Think real hard before you start drilling !!!



Mike

_________________
"NO FEAR" - If you have no fear you did not go as fast as you could have !!!

Kolb MK-III Xtra, 912-S

Beemer

Joined: 26 Aug 2006
Posts: 87
Location: Middle Georgia

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 7:04 pm Post subject: sight glass fuel indicator?

Lynn, 



The idea of using the threaded reducer is a very good one. One could epoxy

that in place so it's would stay permanently. The only small issue I could

see is that the port will not be at the very bottom of the tank.



Bradley



[quote] --

_________________
Beemer
KF2 (and now an M3!)
Suzuki G10 three-banger
Middle Georgia

lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net
Guest

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 11:19 pm Post subject: sight glass fuel indicator?

For what it's worth, the reducer is a long time practice with Kitfox for the 

finger strainers which are, or should be, removed periodically for 

inspection.  Thinking of the finger strainers, I don't think with these in 

place and the usual down line fuel filters, I would hesitate drilling for 

sight gauges.  I think there are methods to remove most drill debris and 

methods to reduce it.



I think, what I would do is make a boss out of fiberglass, drill and tap the 

boss, then glue it in the desired place with Hysol.  Then take a #30 or so 

drill and drill down the center of the threaded boss.  This way you don't 

have to put a drilled plug in the tubing to dampen surges in the sight 

gauge.   The sight gauges are standard on the Model IV and up so they have 

tons of long term use.  I think the leakage issues of time past have been 

resolved with different fittings and lots of home brew methods for nice 

looking and quite accurate gauges - mine - I could estimate within a gallon 

or so.  Personally, I would much rather look at my fuel than a needle if 

fuel was a critical issue at any time.



I talked to a guy recently that mistook a vertical needle as half full, when 

it actually was on flat out empty.  Then we can all recall stories of folks 

that suffered engine outs with lots of fuel still showing on the gauge.  Not 

much chance of error with a puddle of gas in a plastic tube.



If you haven't worked much with fiberglass, cover the desired areas top and 

bottom with clear packing tape and then lay on a couple of layers of 

fiberglass.  When it cures, pop the glass off and using that as a bases, lay 

up enough additional layers for sufficient threads to hold the fitting. 

Drill and tap and trim to a reasonable shape and size and after roughing 

both mating surfaces glue it in place with Hysol or some other structural 

adhesive.  Drill the tiny hole and put the fittings and tubing together. 

With this method, the only clearance issues would be fitting issues and it 

could be placed pretty close to the top and bottom of the tank.  Any debris 

from the drilling would be minimal and easily trapped in the fiters.



Lowell Fitt

Cameron Park, CA

Model IV-1200 R-912 UL

Currently focusing on the Left Wing, Rudder Gap Seal Cuffs and Landing Gear 

Fairing



---

WurlyBird

Joined: 16 May 2008
Posts: 207
Location: North Pole, Alaska

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 11:24 pm Post subject: Re: sight glass fuel indicator?

 	  JetPilot wrote: 	
		  I would go with the fuel indicator in the reserve tank..  If you had to have a fuel indicator... 



Seems like a lot of trouble and problems just to have sight tubes on the tank. 

Mike 	




I can appreciate that this is a task that has to be handled carefully for many reasons, my favorite of which to think about is the exploding vacuum.  The guy I bought the plane from was simply calculating 4 gph burn and assuming full tanks at take off as his method.  I know that the point of sport flying is having fun and relaxing but my nature and training prohibit me from relaxing while waiting for the fuel to get low in order for me to have any idea how much I actually have.  Not to mention with only a 1050 gross I may have to calculate how much fuel I can take if I have a heavy load.  I will feel much better being able to look at the tubes and see how much fuel is in each tank.  So to me it is worth the trouble, and of course worth the trouble to do it right the first time.  



Thanks for all the suggestions, I now feel that it is definitely more simple then some of the worse case scenarios I had in my head.  I will look into it more once I get home.  By the way, is Proseal one of the best compounds for gluing in a fuel covered environment?

_________________
James
Kitfox 3 / 582 / 70" IVO 2 blade GA
50 hrs on the 582 swapping for HKS 700E and Avid Cowl.

Lynn Matteson

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 2778
Location: Grass Lake, Michigan

Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 6:18 am Post subject: sight glass fuel indicator?

I'm not sure if epoxy would stick to the brass, would it? Maybe scuff  

it up real good, or better yet, chuck it up in a lathe and knurl the  

outside of the threaded area, then epoxy in place. That would  

certainly make enough of a "bitable surface" for epoxy adherence.



As far as getting it right down to the bottom of the tank, remember  

this is only for a sight gauge, so not being able to visibly read the  

very last drop of fuel would be a good thing...you'd be landing for a  

fill-up before you got into an emergency situation (said the guy who  

flies with one wing low so the other can feed his header tank, and  

thereby make it to the next stop) : )



Lynn Matteson

Kitfox IV Speedster, taildragger

Jabiru 2200, #2062, 593hrs

Sensenich 62x46

flying again after rebuild, and new Electroair direct-fire ignition  

system;

also building a new pair of snow skis

do not archive



On Dec 6, 2008, at 10:03 PM, Bradley Webb wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   



 Lynn,



 The idea of using the threaded reducer is a very good one. One  

 could epoxy

 that in place so it's would stay permanently. The only small issue  

 I could

 see is that the port will not be at the very bottom of the tank.



 Bradley

_________________
Lynn
Kitfox IV-Jabiru 2200
N369LM

Lynn Matteson

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 2778
Location: Grass Lake, Michigan

Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 6:26 am Post subject: sight glass fuel indicator?

I haven't thought about gluing with Proseal, but have seen it used to  

*seal* a fuel tank....one of the guys at our EAA chapter is building  

a plane and had so many leaking issues with his tank that when he  

finally got it to seal using (a LOT of) Proseal, he said he was gonna  

call the factory and tell them that they could now lay off the second  

shift. : )



Lynn Matteson

Kitfox IV Speedster, taildragger

Jabiru 2200, #2062, 593hrs

Sensenich 62x46

flying again after rebuild, and new Electroair direct-fire ignition  

system;

also building a new pair of snow skis

do not archive



On Dec 7, 2008, at 2:24 AM, WurlyBird wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   

 <james.t.trizzino(at)us.army.mil>

 JetPilot wrote:

> I would go with the fuel indicator in the reserve tank..  If you  

> had to have a fuel indicator...

>

> Seems like a lot of trouble and problems just to have sight tubes  

> on the tank.

> Mike

 I can appreciate that this is a task that has to be handled  

 carefully for many reasons, my favorite of which to think about is  

 the exploding vacuum.  The guy I bought the plane from was simply  

 calculating 4 gph burn and assuming full tanks at take off as his  

 method.  I know that the point of sport flying is having fun and  

 relaxing but my nature and training prohibit me from relaxing while  

 waiting for the fuel to get low in order for me to have any idea  

 how much I actually have.  Not to mention with only a 1050 gross I  

 may have to calculate how much fuel I can take if I have a heavy  

 load.  I will feel much better being able to look at the tubes and  

 see how much fuel is in each tank.  So to me it is worth the  

 trouble, and of course worth the trouble to do it right the first  

 time.



 Thanks for all the suggestions, I now feel that it is definitely  

 more simple then some of the worse case scenarios I had in my  

 head.  I will look into it more once I get home.  By the way, is  

 Proseal one of the best compounds for gluing in a fuel covered  

 environment?



 --------

 Prospective Kitfox buyer

 Here for information on airframes and engines





 Read this topic online here:



 http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p 17990#217990

_________________
Lynn
Kitfox IV-Jabiru 2200
N369LM

Beemer

Joined: 26 Aug 2006
Posts: 87
Location: Middle Georgia

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 4:21 am Post subject: sight glass fuel indicator?

The AN series aluminum reducers would work better than brass, I'd think.

Taps are tapered, so you could size the threads smaller than normal, and get

a good "bite", such that the adhesive would only serve to seal it and hold

it in place.



BTW, I slip to feed the header in the exact same way. But my fuel system is

designed to detect header feed and level, not so much fuel level in the

tanks.



Because I run a fuel injected engine which requires pressure, I have a flow

sender that tells me flow into the header, and a level switch in the header

tank to detect anything less than full. With this setup, no fuel flow

indication means my header is not getting filled, and I wait for the light

to come on, which indicates about 45 minutes of run time remaining at that

point.



It works nicely, in that I can do whatever is required to keep feeding the

header tank (slip, etc.) and when the light goes on, I have VFR fuel

reserve, and need to land. I know that at 21 in/hg, I flow about 2.2gph, so

less flow indicates no header feeding, such as a blockage. More flow

indicates the header has gotten low, and is refilling itself. Either way,

the fuel pump is sending fuel to the engine.



Actually, my fuel tank level senders are superfluous, and only serve to

provide an estimate of fuel level in flight. I use them more on preflight to

determine whether refueling is necessary. On my new Model three, I'm going

to do both senders and sight gauges, just for redundancy, and neither is

hard nor expensive to do.



Bradley



[quote] --

_________________
Beemer
KF2 (and now an M3!)
Suzuki G10 three-banger
Middle Georgia

lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net
Guest

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 8:28 am Post subject: sight glass fuel indicator?

For what it's worth, over the weekend I rethought my suggested method for 

retrofitting a sight gauge in an already installed tank and thought of one 

additional step.  After the bosses are fabricated and tapped, I would 

postition them in place, mark the position of the tapped hole, drill through 

the tank  - small hole -and Hysol a short length of aluminum tube through 

the hole.  The tube would protect the wall of the tank from constant contact 

with fuel.  Then I would Hysol the fabricted tapped boss to the side of the 

tank.



Lowell



---

wingsdown(at)verizon.net
Guest

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 9:15 am Post subject: sight glass fuel indicator?

Not to offend any of the possible solutions offered, but If she were

mine I would just add a small fuel flow gage to the panel. You can put

the pick up in the fuel supply line. Several are offered and have many

advantages over just looking up to see what is left. Not that that is a

bad thing, far from it. But at this point in the finished state of the

aircraft it just makes more sense to me. 



If you do decide to go with the sight tubes let me know and I will look

to see what I have laying around. Seems I was going to replace something

and had to buy the entire kit. If you do drill the fiberglass for

fittings might I suggest you do a bit of glass layer build up first. You

could also put in some nice permanent bushings to screw your tube

fittings in to.  

 



Rick

PMorel

Joined: 09 Jul 2007
Posts: 62
Location: Locust Grove, GA USA

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 12:39 pm Post subject: sight glass fuel indicator?

Here's about the cheapest Fuel Flow system I found.  I got it a little 

cheaper at Oshkosh this past summer and it's going in my Speedster.

http://www.fdatasystems.com/



Paul Morel

Model IV Speedster

Locust Grove, GA



---

_________________
Paul Morel
912 Speedster
Locust Grove, GA

www.WingsAirPhotos.com

Lynn Matteson

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 2778
Location: Grass Lake, Michigan

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 2:16 pm Post subject: sight glass fuel indicator?

My two wing tanks feed the header tank, which, when full, fills up  

the low fuel indicator tank and then back up to the right wing tank.  

As long as I've got no yellow light on, I'm good for at least  15  

minutes flight. But when I know I'm low on fuel, I'll glance at the  

clear line between the low fuel indicator tank and the right wing,  

and if it starts to show air instead of fuel, then I've got a heads- 

up that the yellow (low fuel) light will soon glow, indicating that  

I've got 15 minutes to find fuel or go into the low-wing method of  

transferring fuel to the header tank. It's a lot less scary than it  

sounds!



Lynn Matteson

Kitfox IV Speedster, taildragger

Jabiru 2200, #2062, 593hrs

Sensenich 62x46

flying again after rebuild, and new Electroair direct-fire ignition  

system;

also building a new pair of snow skis

do not archive



On Dec 8, 2008, at 7:21 AM, Bradley Webb wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   



 BTW, I slip to feed the header in the exact same way. But my fuel  

 system is

 designed to detect header feed and level, not so much fuel level in  

 the

 tanks.



 Bradley


	




 	  Quote: 	
		  > As far as getting it right down to the bottom of the tank, remember

> this is only for a sight gauge, so not being able to visibly read the

> very last drop of fuel would be a good thing...you'd be landing for a

> fill-up before you got into an emergency situation (said the guy who

> flies with one wing low so the other can feed his header tank, and

> thereby make it to the next stop) : )

>

> Lynn

_________________
Lynn
Kitfox IV-Jabiru 2200
N369LM

patreilly43(at)hotmail.co
Guest

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 3:23 pm Post subject: sight glass fuel indicator?

Lynn C Please explain the "low wing method". Thanks.

  

 Pat reilly

 Mod 3582 Rebuild

 Rockford C IL



 	  Quote: 	
		   From: lynnmatt(at)jps.net

 Subject: Re: sight glass fuel indicator?

 Date: Mon C 8 Dec 2008 17:15:28 -0500

 To: kitfox-list(at)matronics.com

 

 --> Kitfox-List message posted by: Lynn Matteson <lynnmatt(at)jps.net>

 

 My two wing tanks feed the header tank C which C when full C fills up 

 the low fuel indicator tank and then back up to the right wing tank. 

 As long as I've got no yellow light on C I'm good for at least 15 

 minutes flight. But when I know I'm low on fuel C I'll glance at the 

 clear line between the low fuel indicator tank and the right wing C 

 and if it starts to show air instead of fuel C then I've got a heads- 

 up that the yellow (low fuel) light will soon glow C indicating that 

 I've got 15 minutes to find fuel or go into the low-wing method of 

 transferring fuel to the header tank. It's a lot less scary than it 

 sounds!

 

 Lynn Matteson

 Kitfox IV Speedster C taildragger

 Jabiru 2200 C #2062 C 593hrs

 Sensenich 62x46

 flying again after rebuild C and new Electroair direct-fire ignition 

 system;

 also building a new pair of snow skis

 do not archive

 

 

 

 On Dec 8 C 2008 C at 7:21 AM C Bradley Webb wrote:

 

 > --> Kitfox-List message posted by: "Bradley Webb" <bmwebb(at)cox.net>

 >

 > BTW C I slip to feed the header in the exact same way. But my fuel 

 > system is

 > designed to detect header feed and level C not so much fuel level in 

 > the

 > tanks.

 >

 > Bradley

 

 

 >> As far as getting it right down to the bottom of the tank C remember

 >> this is only for a sight gauge C so not being able to visibly read the

 >> very last drop of fuel would be a good thing..you'd be landing for a

 >> fill-up before you got into an emergency situation (said the guy who

 >> flies with one wing low so the other can feed his header tank C and

 >> thereby make it to the next stop) : )

 >>

&gt=====================
	


 	  Quote: 	
		   _=======

 

 

 


	


  [quote][b]

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