Never ending gas.

[Krusty]

You do realize that in real life even "empty" tanks still have gas in them? The pickup/pump/drain doesn't get it all. There are puddles. Especially if the tank shares the dihedral of the wing, and the pickup is on one side or the other, you might have quite a bit of residual gas.

I recall a story once where a pilot almost ran out of gas in mid-flight, and when he landed they checked the tanks. There were only so many liters left in each, and the tanks read as empty. The pilot was in disbelief that the engine hadn't cut out.

Just means "usable" fuel isn't always the same as "all the fuel that's in there"


EDIT: You ever pour yourself a drink from a picnic thermos? One of those round or square boxes or barrels with water and ice inside, and a spigot at the bottom? You put your cup underneath, press the button, and get a cool drink. Ever try to get all of it out, when it's empty? You have to twist and turn the thing at odd angles to get all the drops out, and even then you miss some. I'd imagine something similar happens in fuel tanks.

[Sunka]

Sure i will take that into consideration.When my car stops because i forgot to look at the gas gauge for three days there is still gas in the tank.I just don't know if it would be enough to make enough left over fumes to make such a fire.I just wonder now,and feel the need to put my myth buster hat on.But i thank you for some food for thought and a project for the next week.Do we know if WW2 plane wing tanks where pressurised?

[dkff49]

The reason you haven't blown up is that the relative amount of oxygen in the can is low as you just emptied the can. If you were to wait for a period of time until the oxygen and fuel vapor were in the proper balance, the contents would ignite. Given the confinement of the container it more than likely would explode.

Not a good idea either way.

not to mention the fact that you would need to get the lighter inside the gas can. vapors are heavier then air.

edit: spelling

To also comment on your original question Sunka, back in high school when I worked at a gas station part-time I asked the truck driver that delivered the gas why he did not change his placard from flammable. His response was that there were plenty of vapors in the tank to be dangerous. It would take a great deal of time for any decent size tank (ie wing fuel tank on WWII plane) to clear of vapors as to not be dangerous when leaking out of a bullet hole (to the best of my knowledge).

[Sunka]

not to mention the fact that you would need to get the lighter inside the gas can. vapors are heavier then air.

I just need a fan acting like wind going past a hole in a wing.But Ty for the info.

[smoe]

If you want to test the self sealing tanks in a F4U just try a dive bombing an enemy field. One and only one hit and bam the main tank is leaking fuel. This seems to happen often.

[Sunka]

Self sealing  in AH? 

[phatzo]

Hoping a pilot of a large aircraft buts in to help me here (JR), But I thought that it was a regulation never to have empty tanks in large aircraft such as 747's etc because an empty fuel tank is a lot more volatile than a full one.

[Krusty]

Sunka: As in real life, pilot armor and self-sealing fuel tanks only work against small-caliber ("rifle caliber") rounds, and not always against incendiary devices. Often times the ack hitting you as you attack something is a 20mm cannon round (if not 37mm, 40mm, 5", etc...)

Phatzo: Modern jets have an argon gas system that fills the tank's empty space with inert gas. Can't remember which flight it was that instigated this, but an early 737 blew up from that very cause. Since then (always AFTER the price has been paid, the bean counters...) I think all commercial airlines have that, and probably large military jets too.

[Sunka]

Indeed and most times it happens its with 50 Cal's, cannon rounds just blow my whole wing off.
AND BTW thank you to all you who put up intelligent conversation on this so far (you know who you are)

[KgB]

"The first large-scale use of inerting systems for military aircraft fuel tanks was by the USSR in WWII. Mass produced LA-5 and LA-7 fighter aircraft by the Lavochkin design group incorporated an ingenious device to flood the main body fuel tank, mounted dangerously in front of the cockpit, with a huge volume of exhaust gas channeled through a plenum chamber, inerting it in combat" -Wiki

[Stalwart]

ha ha talking in theory only,but my point being i can do it and should not end up going to the hospital this haloween as a burn victim.

Don't try it!~  People burn and kill themselves every year because they underestimate the intensity of heat and energy released in a gasoline fire.

Firemen, Help me here.

[kvuo75]

google "welding fuel tank"


people have tried and died trying to weld "empty" fuel tanks.. 


seems about as smart as putting a flame to an empty gas can

[RipChord929]

Oh, from the title, I was thinking that this thread was about this BBS in general...

From school, I learned that gasoline will ignite within a certain range of mixture ratio... If memory serves, it was 15 and 25 to 1 air to fuel.. Feel free to correct the ratios, because school was a LONG time ago for me... Naturally the type of fuel, and atmosperic conditions can alter this.... This is why you see the oddities of gasoline putting out the flame on a lighter, so on and so forth... But it isn't something that is worth messin with, just to find out for sure, LOL!!!!

I've welded or soldered many gastanks, a little common sense goes a long way when doing so... Like washing them out with water before hand, sometimes twice... Or filling them 1/2 full of water before working on them...

Like I said, a little common sense goes a long way!!!


RC

[Anaxogoras]

Ahem, theory also says that eventually the gas molecules will effuse out of the whole, and therefore no longer manifest a white vapor trail from the aircraft.

[smoe]

So basically from this thread, never weld my tanks while flying? 

I will have remember that one.