Aircraft Fuel

Systems
BY BIRUCK ABRAHAM
NATIONAL AVIATION COLLEGE
Business and Commercial Aviation
Magazine
 “An aircraft's fuel system has a more profound effect on
aircraft performance than any other airframe system.
Without fuel, the mission inevitably comes to an abrupt stop
and, unless the flight crew is very, very lucky, the ensuing
forced landing will cause severe or catastrophic aircraft
damage.” ~ Fred George, 6/20/06
http://www.avweek.com/avnow/news/channel_bca_story.jsp?id=news/fuel0606.xml
Fuel Types

 Civilian  Military
 Jet A  JP-4
 Jet A-1  JP-5
 Jet B  JP-8
Typical Fuel Tanks

 Integral
 Rigid Removable
 Bladder
 Rule of Thumb for max. fuel volume: 85% for
wing tanks and 92% for fuselage tanks,
measured to the external skin surface
(exception: bladder tanks, 77% and 83%,
respectively)
 External
Components

Main Tanks

Header Tank (separate from main tanks, holds enough fuel for
engines to run during complicated maneuvers)

Gravity Feed (small aircraft only)

Electric/Engine-driven Fuel Pumps

Fuel distributed around center
of gravity
Fuel Dumping Systems

 Needed to meet landing weight limits of landing gear or

runway length
 System of fuel pumps and valves
 Usually ejected from wingtips
 Sometimes from aft-most point of fuselage
 Usually designed to allow the plane to go from max take-off
weight to max landing weight in 15 minutes or less.
777 Fuel Dumping http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/planes/q0245b.shtml
http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Evolution_of_Technology/refueling/Tech22G5.htm
In-Flight Refueling

 Original motivation: endurance records

 Currently used only in the military sector
 Two main types:
 Boom and Receptacle
 Probe and Drogue

http://www.answers.com/topic/aerial-refueling
Airframe Systems
Fuel Systems

• Fuel, electrical,
hydraulic, and
oxygen systems
make up the
airframe systems.
 Airframe Systems
Fuel Systems
• The fuel system is
designed to provide an
uninterrupted flow of clean
fuel from the fuel tanks to
the engine.

• The fuel must be available

to the engine under all
conditions of engine
power, altitude, attitude,
and during all approved
flight maneuvers.
 Airframe Systems
Fuel Systems

• Two common classifications

apply to fuel systems in
small aircraft:

• Gravity-feed
• Fuel-pump systems.
Fuel Systems
Gravity-Feed Systems

• The gravity-feed system

utilizes the force of
gravity to transfer the
fuel from the tanks to
the engine.
Fuel Systems
Gravity-Feed Systems
• For example, on high-wing
airplanes, the fuel tanks
are installed in the wings.

• This places the fuel tanks

above the carburetor, and
the fuel is gravity fed
through the system and
into the carburetor.
Fuel Systems
Gravity-Feed Systems
• If the design of the aircraft
is such that gravity cannot
be used to transfer fuel,
fuel pumps are installed.

• For example, on low-wing

airplanes, the fuel tanks in
the wings are located
below the carburetor.
Fuel Systems
Fuel-Pump System
• Aircraft with fuel-pump
systems have two fuel
pumps.

• The main pump system is

engine driven with an
electrically driven auxiliary
pump provided for use in
engine starting and in the
event the engine pump
fails.
Fuel Systems
Fuel-Pump System
• The auxiliary pump, also
known as a boost pump,
provides added reliability
to the fuel system.

• The electrically driven

auxiliary pump is
controlled by a switch in
the flight deck.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Primer
• Both gravity-feed and fuel-
pump systems may
incorporate a fuel primer
into the system.

• The fuel primer is used to

draw fuel from the tanks to
vaporize fuel directly into
the cylinders prior to
starting the engine.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Primer

• During cold weather, when

engines are difficult to
start, the fuel primer helps
because there is not
enough heat available to
vaporize the fuel in the
carburetor.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Primer

• It is important to lock the

primer in place when it is
not in use.

• If the knob is free to move,

it may vibrate out during
flight and can cause an
excessively rich mixture.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Tanks

• The fuel tanks, normally

located inside the wings of
an airplane, have a filler
opening on top of the wing
through which they can be
filled.

• A filler cap covers this

opening.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Tanks
• The tanks are vented to the
outside to maintain
atmospheric pressure
inside the tank.

• They may be vented

through the filler cap or
through a tube extending
through the surface of the
wing.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Tanks
• Fuel tanks also include an
overflow drain that may
stand alone or be
collocated with the fuel
tank vent.

• This allows fuel to expand

with increases in
temperature without
damage to the tank itself.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Tanks

• If the tanks have been filled

on a hot day, it is not
unusual to see fuel coming
from the overflow drain.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Gauges
• The fuel quantity gauges
indicate the amount of fuel
measured by a sensing
unit in each fuel tank and
is displayed in gallons or
pounds.

• Aircraft certification rules

require accuracy in fuel
gauges only when they
read “empty.”
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Gauges

• Any reading other than

“empty” should be verified.

• Do not depend solely on

the accuracy of the fuel
quantity gauges.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Gauges

• Always visually check the

fuel level in each tank
during the preflight
inspection, and then
compare it with the
corresponding fuel
quantity indication.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Gauges

• If a fuel pump is installed

in the fuel system, a fuel
pressure gauge is also
included.

• This gauge indicates the

pressure in the fuel lines.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Selectors
• The fuel selector valve
allows selection of fuel
from various tanks.

• A common type of selector

valve contains four
positions: LEFT, RIGHT,
BOTH, and OFF.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Selectors
• Selecting the LEFT or
RIGHT position allows fuel
to feed only from that tank,
while selecting the BOTH
position feeds fuel from
both tanks.

• The LEFT or RIGHT

position may be used to
balance the amount of fuel
remaining in each wing
tank.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Selectors

• Fuel placards will

show any limitations
on fuel tank usage,
such as “level flight
only” and/or “both”
for landings and
takeoffs.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Selectors
• Fuel consumption
should be monitored
closely to ensure that a
tank does not run
completely out of fuel.

• Running a fuel tank dry

will not only cause the
engine to stop, but
running for prolonged
periods on one tank
causes an unbalanced
fuel load between tanks.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Selectors
• Running a tank completely
dry may allow air to enter
the fuel system and cause
vapor lock, which makes it
difficult to restart the
engine.

• On fuel-injected engines,
the fuel becomes so hot it
vaporizes in the fuel line,
not allowing fuel to reach
the cylinders.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Strainers, Sumps and Drains

• After leaving the fuel tank

and before it enters the
carburetor, the fuel
passes through a strainer
which removes any
moisture and other
sediments in the system.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Strainers, Sumps and Drains

• Since these contaminants

are heavier than aviation
fuel, they settle in a sump
at the bottom of the
strainer assembly.

• A sump is a low point in a

fuel system and/or fuel
tank.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Strainers, Sumps and Drains
• The fuel system may
contain sump, fuel
strainer, and fuel tank
drains, which may be
collocated.

• The fuel strainer should

be drained before each
flight.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Strainers, Sumps and Drains
• Fuel samples should be
drained and checked
visually for water and
contaminants.

• Water in the sump is

hazardous because in
cold weather the water
can freeze and block fuel
lines.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Strainers, Sumps and Drains
• In warm weather, it can
flow into the carburetor
and stop the engine.

• If water is present in the

sump, more water in the
fuel tanks is probable and
they should be drained
until there is no evidence
of water.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Strainers, Sumps and Drains
• Never take off until all
water and contaminants
have been removed from
the engine fuel system.

• Because of the variation in

fuel systems, become
thoroughly familiar with
the systems that apply to
the aircraft being flown.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Grades

• Auto gas should NEVER

be used in aircraft engines
unless the aircraft has
been modified with a
Supplemental Type
Certificate (STC) issued by
the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA).
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Grades

• AVGAS for aircraft with

reciprocating engines
100LL.

• Although AVGAS 100LL

performs the same as
grade 100, the “LL”
indicates it has a low lead
content.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Contamination
• Accidents attributed to
powerplant failure from
fuel contamination have
often been traced to:

• Inadequate preflight
inspection by the pilot.

• Servicing aircraft with

improperly filtered fuel
from small tanks or
drums.
Fuel Systems
Fuel Contamination

• Storing aircraft with

partially filled fuel
tanks.

• Lack of proper
maintenance.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Contamination

• Fuel should be drained

from the fuel strainer
quick drain and from each
fuel tank sump into a
transparent container, and
then checked for dirt and
water.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Contamination
• Water is the principal fuel
contaminant.

• Suspended water droplets

in the fuel can be
identified by a cloudy
appearance of the fuel, or
by the clear separation of
water from the colored
fuel, which occurs after
the water has settled to
the bottom of the tank.
 Fuel Systems
Fuel Contamination
• As a safety measure, the
fuel sumps should be
drained before every flight
during the preflight
inspection.

• Fuel tanks should be filled

after each flight or after
the last flight of the day to
prevent moisture
condensation within the
tank.