h a l f b a k e r yMagical moments of mediocrity.
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If a piston aircraft is accidentally mis-fueled with Jet A the
engine will run just long enough to takeoff, then quit within
minutes. The aircraft goes down, with a full load of unusable
fuel.
The solution is easy you say! "Don't put jet fuel in a piston
aircraft". But human error always
finds a way. Pilots check
their fuel for water and contaminants, but if Jet A is mixed
with 100LL the standard visual test isn't good enough, it is
almost impossible to see the difference between the two.
Smelling it won't help either. The only way to make sure that
100LL isn't contaminated with jet fuel is by rubbing it with
your fingers, or pouring some on paper and waiting to see if it
evaporates. These are time consuming and therefore never
done.
A nifty safety feature (available as a costly option, of course)
would be a detector in the fuel tanks which could use
electrical resistance to determine if the aircraft was mis-
fueled with Jet A or water.
BYO jet fuel
BYO_20Avgas
[not_morrison_rm, Aug 17 2015]
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How about adding different dyes to distinguish the
fuels? |
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^ Red dye has long been added to off road diesel fuel in the
US because no road tax is imposed on it. Road fuel has no
dye. If caught using the red stuff in a road vehicle to save
money it's a stiff fine.
Good idea [MB]. |
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They do color code them. Jet A is clear, and 100LL is
light blue, so if you mix them together they still look
light blue. I believe 80 octane Avgas is red, 100 is
green. |
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" But human error always finds a way " |
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[+], but resistance probably won't work. Density or capacitance might. |
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It is. You will be Assimilated. You must comply. |
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The Voices In Your Head, of course - what else ? |
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I'm pretty sure you could tell the difference using a
refractometer. Could you simply embed one of these in the
tank? I'm sure that a light source, refractometer and cell-
phone style camera could be made to work for $100* or so. |
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*it's aviation, call it $15,000 |
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Military aviation, call it $150,000 ... |
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Or just make the fuel filler holes and nozzles different shapes and sizes ... or is that too simple ? |
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//Or just make the fuel filler holes and nozzles different
shapes and sizes ... or is that too simple ?// |
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Well, some fill from the bottom, some the top, some have
the whole intert gas thing going on, some aircraft need
80,000 galons of fuel, meaning you're likely to need more
than one size of hole. Actually, let's standardize the holes,
I'd love to see a Jet Provost with the fuel filler from an
A380. |
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Surprised they don't have this. Even if it's not
necessary I'd want one. What's wrong with another
gauge telling you not to worry? [+] |
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Two contact points, a couple of overvoltage protectors, a
single thin data line to the cockpit. Even I could make this. |
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You could run it through an Intrinsically Safe Zener barrier, but ehat's the sensing technology ? |
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// Even if it's not necessary I'd want one. // |
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//refractometer and cell- phone style camera could
be made to work for $100* or so. it's aviation, call it
$15,000// |
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Unless it's a government contract, call it $150,000.
That's for the bid, it won't end up being that cheap. |
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Once its manufacturing gets incorporated into a jobs
program titled "Operation Can't Possibly Fail" the
research will be done in California, the case will be
made in Kansas, the parts will be made in Texas and
the assembly will take place in Nevada. This
amendment will be tacked on to a bill being put
through congress assuring that baby seals in zoos are
given their moment of zen three times a day and
will be sponsored by senators from California,
Kansas, Texas and Nevada. |
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The bill to find out why all the parts don't fit
together will be titled "Operation Can't Possibly Fail A
Second Time." |
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//The bill to find out why all the parts don't fit together will
be titled "Operation Can't Possibly Fail A Second Time."// |
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In the absence of a fuel quality sensor... my cynicism
sensor's off the scale right now. |
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//In the absence of a fuel quality sensor... my cynicism
sensor's off the scale right now.// |
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I like to think of it as paying attention, but I could probably
radiate a little more sunshine in my comments. But
remember: |
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"Paranoia is just another form of awareness, and awareness
is just another form of love.": Charles Manson. (And yes,
that's an actual quote.) |
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