what fuel tank to drain??? fighters

[Chalenge]

Yes absolutely burn AUX first. In the original aircraft the AUX tank level could be read by looking over your left shoulder. In the P-51 the fuel selector is between the pilots legs and the AH AUX tank would be called Fuse Tank in the actual airplane. It holds 85 gallons and according to the Pilots Flight Operating Instructions the pilot should be especially careful anytime the fuselage tanks has more than 25 gallons. It also warns about doing any form of aerobatics with more than 40 gallons in the fuselage tank. What happens is the stick reverses on the initiation of turns and you have to push forward on the stick due to a tail heavy condition. The same thing happens upon any elevator application. This is reversability. Early in the production of the D model counterweights were added to the elevators which really helped but didnt totally remove reversability.

When using drop tanks the pilots were instructed to maintain only normal flight conditions regardless of the internal fuel state.

[RTHolmes]

not convinced about the spit top tank, its so close to the roll axis I cant see it making much difference. If it was drained first I suspect it was more to avoid a leak pouring all the fuel into the cockpit. just a guess though. in AH I cant even remember the last time I got a fuel hit in a spit (unlike the jug where its every other sortie...)

[SmokinLoon]

Absolutely. Most aircraft are not even allowed to fly like that.

But the F4U is.    Watch from about 1:25 onward.  It offers instruction on fuel, flaps, and maneuvers.     

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-PwTTQz6Zw&NR=1

I'm off to find the video of why Spitfire's burn the top before the bottom fuel tank.

[SmokinLoon]

For MachFly and why spitfires burn the top tank first:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHg5SJYRHA0&NR=1&feature=fvwp

[bortas1]

For MachFly and why spitfires burn the top tank first:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHg5SJYRHA0&NR=1&feature=fvwp

is it me or does the youtube vidio not match the discussion?
bortas

[MachFly]

For MachFly and why spitfires burn the top tank first:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHg5SJYRHA0&NR=1&feature=fvwp

 

Wrong link?


I know why Spitfires burn their top fuel tank first (I explained it on the first page), it's not because it helps with roll rate. If your going to point me to a video that says "Spitfire rolls better with a top fuel tank empty" I will not believe it, it does not make any sense. The top fuel tank is in the center, it has no effect on the roll rate.
Tell you what, there might be a minor change in roll rate but you will need a computer to realize it, there is no way a human will be able to feel it.

[MachFly]

But the F4U is.    Watch from about 1:25 onward.  It offers instruction on fuel, flaps, and maneuvers.     

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-PwTTQz6Zw&NR=1

I'm off to find the video of why Spitfire's burn the top before the bottom fuel tank.

Right, the video says to burn off your wing tanks first and start with your left one. But it does not say to fly with your left tank empty and right tank full.

[Chalenge]

The reason the Spit uses fuel out of the left wing first is because unburned fuel is returned to that tank through the vapor return line. Its the same way in the P-51 except the early models had the fuel return to the left wing tank while later models returned fuel to the fuse tanke. And so a pilot needed to discover which tank was his return tank and burn that one first. The consequence of not doing it right would be unstable flight if too much accumulated in the fuse tank (at up to 10gals/hr it adds up quickly) or lost fuel through the overflow line. This is not modeled in AH though it might be taken into consideration in overall fuel burn rates.

[SouthLanda]

Challenge, my reading of the Spit MkXIV pilots notes is that fuel should be burnt from the 'main'  tanks until the contents of the top tank hits the 'red' mark and then a transfer FROM the wing tanks is completed. Thus re-filling the top tank.

I cant tell if the fuel is actually ever directly burnt from the wing tanks. I dont think it is.

If I recall correctly, the spitfire top tank may actaully automatically drain into the bottom tank. The top tank has 36 gallons, the bottom has 49 gallons, the wings have 13 each.

It would be cool to have a 'transfer' selector, however if you forget to turn it off, the main tank can lose pressurisation on the SPit XIV :-)

[MachFly]

Challenge, my reading of the Spit MkXIV pilots notes is that fuel should be burnt from the 'main'  tanks until the contents of the top tank hits the 'red' mark and then a transfer FROM the wing tanks is completed. Thus re-filling the top tank.

I cant tell if the fuel is actually ever directly burnt from the wing tanks. I dont think it is.

If I recall correctly, the spitfire top tank may actaully automatically drain into the bottom tank. The top tank has 36 gallons, the bottom has 49 gallons, the wings have 13 each.

It would be cool to have a 'transfer' selector, however if you forget to turn it off, the main tank can lose pressurisation on the SPit XIV :-)

Sounds about right, but since we don't have such features in AH we are forced to use the ordered I listed on the first page.

[Chalenge]

I dont have the Spit XIV book but I am not aware of a fuel transfer feature in any fighter from WWII so thats a new one to me.

[RTHolmes]

the notes for IX/XI/XVI say top tank 48gal, which just drains by gravity into the lower (self-sealed) 37gal tank.

so it seems that AH spits empty tanks in the right order, they are just mislabelled.

[MachFly]

the notes for IX/XI/XVI say top tank 48gal, which just drains by gravity into the lower (self-sealed) 37gal tank.

so it seems that AH spits empty tanks in the right order, they are just mislabelled.

As you said in reality you take the fuel from the bottom tank and the top drains into the bottom tank as it becomes empty, but in AH if you star using the bottom tank you will have an empty bottom tank and a full top tank.

[RTHolmes]

so really none of the spits apart from the VIII should have selectable tanks, and that should be just wing or main. although I cant imagine why you wouldnt want to always drain the wings first.

[Debrody]

Sirs, i dont gave too much experience with it, but for me, the automatic selection works the best. In the 152, if you burn the forward tank first, it will be completely unflyable, if you burn the aft first, it will be a dog, and still has the nasty tailspin habit. Same with the 262, so i think its the best to leave it on auto (maybe burn the wing tanks first). I have no experience with allied rides tho.