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Be careful with the fuel selector...

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

I am afraid this is a recurrent problem with some aircraft which have the fuel selector located in awkward places like on the sidewall by the pilot’s left ankle, or even behind the pilot. I distinctly remember this was an area with which you had to be very careful on the Bonanzas I used to fly.

An American celebrity (singer) was killed in his Long Ez (Monterey, CA??) in which the fuel selector was located behind the pilot’s seat.

Last Edited by Aviathor at 03 Apr 11:59
LFPT, LFPN

John Denver.

It’s about time that this fuel selecor nonsense is removed from aeroplanes. I wonder how transport category aircraft manage to fly 5 sectors a day, 365 days per year without one…

EDDS - Stuttgart

For low wing aircraft, the technical complexity of removing the fuel selector is very high. The main issue is that you could have an empty tank and the system could then suck air from that tank into the fuel system.

For a high wing aircraft it is trivial and my TR182 has a “both” setting which I use 99.9% of the time so it’s a complete no brainer. The PA28/Bonanza way of positing the fuel selector is beyond description, a shame this ever got certified. The Cirrus does it better and the glass cockpits also actively support the pilot.

Just last year there was a badly damaged Arrow at our airfield, coming from EDDS and doing a crash landing because the pilot didn’t switch the tank and ran out of fuel during final approach. Yeah, stupid pilot, ignoring checklists but even more stupid is the design of the system.

Do airline pilots really have no control over where the fuel comes from?

To be fair on the pilot… It sounds as if the problem was as much one of ergonomics as failure to follow a checklist. And two minutes goes very quickly. I was always told to attempt a restart if there was time, then concentrate on doing a good forced landing. Partly in order to have enough time to make a good landing, and also because if you get a burst of power it might screw up your approach.

Do airline pilots really have no control over where the fuel comes from?

Depends on the aircraft. The ones I am familiar with (not airliners, but transport category aircraft) have a shutoff valve in each wing that is activated by pressing the fire button. Other than that, the only control is a crossfeed-switch used to balance unequal fuel contents in the wings, e.g. due to single-engine flying.

For low wing aircraft, the technical complexity of removing the fuel selector is very high.

A lot of low wing aircraft I have flown have float valves in each tank to ensure that no fuel is drawn from an empty tank. A very simple system that works close to perfectly. Thanks to these valves most light twins have several tanks per wing but very simple fuel selectors with on/off/crossfeed.

EDDS - Stuttgart

Some fuel selectors do require advanced forms of Yoga to reach and manipulate. I only manipulate mine in cruise or on the ground. The worst case are those which have the “OFF” position between Left and Right.

LSZH(work) LSZF (GA base), Switzerland

An American celebrity (singer) was killed in his Long Ez (Monterey, CA??) in which the fuel selector was located behind the pilot’s seat.

This is an experimental, where these things typically is left up to the builder. In my Onex the fuel selector is originally positioned out of sight at all times, and also out of reach when strapped in. A “fix” is fairly simple, and at least one “aftermarket” supplier has already made a simple kit that makes it in sight, in reach as a red push/pull button on the panel.

I think the fuel selectors on typical low wing aircraft with wing tanks are accidents waiting to happen, even the levers are confusing. But how to make an automatic system that aren’t ridiculously complex ? Glass instruments can be set up to give audible and visual warnings, but this is no more reliable than the measurement device in each tank as well as the glass, and you are already more than half the way there to a fully automatic system as failure modes are concerned.

Last Edited by LeSving at 06 Apr 04:20
The elephant is the circulation
ENVA ENOP ENMO, Norway

Some fuel selectors do require advanced forms of Yoga to reach and manipulate.

One instructor showed me the advantages of the PA28 fuel selector location, if flying with a girl student wearing a short skirt (as many do – same with driving lessons)

Two instructors I knew got students pregnant, though presumably not while attending the fuel selector

This is an experimental, where these things typically is left up to the builder

Sure, but isn’t that completely stupid? Just because it’s a homebuilt doesn’t mean the builder is morally entitled to not engage the brain. Especially if later carrying passengers who, while not expecting a B747 level of safety, would hope to not be flying in a deathtrap with a pilot with a death wish.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

The TB’s fuel selector design used to be equally stupid as the PA28. It was a very small switch perfectly well hidden behind the yoke. At least Socata learned from it and relocated it to a good position.

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