This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Aircraft fuel system" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR(June 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
An aircraft fuel system allows the crew to pump, manage, and deliver aviation fuel to the propulsion system and auxiliary power unit (APU) of an aircraft. Fuel systems differ greatly due to different performance of the aircraft in which they are installed. A single-engine piston aircraft has a simple fuel system; a tanker (such as the KC-135), in addition to managing its own fuel, can also provide fuel to other aircraft.[1]
Fuel is piped through fuel lines to a fuel control valve (usually known as the fuel selector). This valve serves several functions. The first function is to act as a fuel shut-off valve. This is required to provide the crew with a means to prevent fuel reaching the engine in case of an engine fire. The second function is to allow the pilot to choose which tank feeds the engine. Many aircraft have the left tank and right tank selections available to the pilot. Some Cessna airplanes feed only from both tanks; and many have the option to feed from left, right, or both tanks. The reason to have left only and right only options is to allow pilots to balance fuel load to reduce the banking moment. In some aircraft, the shut-off function is a different valve located after the fuel selector valve.
Typically, after the selector valve—situated at a low point in the fuel run—there is a gascolator — a fuel filter that can be opened on the ground and drained of fuel impurities denser than petroleum, mainly water and sediment. Other drainage points are in each tank (often more than one contaminant collection sump per tank) and at the injection pump.
Each tank is vented (or pressurised) to allow air into the tank to take the place of burned fuel; otherwise, the tank would be in negative pressure which would result in engine fuel starvation. A vent also allows for changes in atmospheric pressure and temperature.
^Taylor 1990, p. 164.
and 27 Related for: Aircraft fuel system information
An aircraftfuelsystem allows the crew to pump, manage, and deliver aviation fuel to the propulsion system and auxiliary power unit (APU) of an aircraft...
Aircraftsystems are those required to operate an aircraft efficiently and safely. Their complexity varies with the type of aircraft. Aircraft software...
Aircraftfuel tanks are a major component of aircraftfuelsystems. They can be classified into internal or external fuel tanks and can be further classified...
The fuel economy in aircraft is the measure of the transport energy efficiency of aircraft. Fuel efficiency is increased with better aerodynamics and by...
Conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) are additional fuel tanks fitted closely to the profile of an aircraft that extend the endurance of the aircraft. CFTs have...
Fuelsystem may refer to: Aircraftfuelsystem in automobiles and their industry, the combination of fuel tanks, fuel pumps, fuel pipes, fuel injection...
the inerting systems on military aircraft, this inerting system runs continuously to reduce fuel vapor flammability whenever the aircraft's engines are...
Fuel dumping (or a fuel jettison) is a procedure used by aircraft in certain emergency situations before a return to the airport shortly after takeoff...
Aviation fuels are petroleum-based fuels, or petroleum and synthetic fuel blends, used to power aircraft. They have more stringent requirements than fuels used...
storage tank for fuel may be so called, the term is typically applied to part of an engine system in which the fuel is stored and propelled (fuel pump) or released...
Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines...
wing tank or belly tank) is used to describe auxiliary fuel tanks externally carried by aircraft. A drop tank is expendable and often capable of being...
an aircraft's fuelsystem. The gascolator is located below the level of the aircraft's carburetor and fuel tanks and on light aircraft is commonly located...
hollow tube installed vertically in the bottoms of fuel tanks of many large aircraft, used to check fuel levels. To read a dripstick, it is withdrawn from...
referred to as integral fuel tanks) is an aerospace engineering technique where an aircraft's wing structure is sealed and used as a fuel tank. The use of wet...
A pressure carburetor is a type of fuel metering system manufactured by the Bendix Corporation for piston aircraft engines, starting in the 1940s. It...
multiple systems of an internal combustion engine in a single unit. Systems commonly controlled by an ECU include the fuel injection and ignition systems. The...
transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft are in flight. The two main refueling systems are probe-and-drogue...
use. Propellant tanks vary in construction, and may be a fuel tank in the case of many aircraft. In rocket vehicles, propellant tanks are fairly sophisticated...
Fuelsystem icing inhibitor (FSII) is an additive to aviation fuels that prevents the formation of ice in fuel lines. FSII is sometimes referred to by...
the electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the hundreds...
military aircraft requiring self-contained starting systems these units are known by various names including Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), Jet Fuel Starter...
pm CDT, the aircraft's cockpit warning system sounded, indicating a fuel-pressure problem on the aircraft's left side. Assuming that a fuel pump had failed...
gasoline, also known as aviation spirit in the UK) is an aviation fuel used in aircraft with spark-ignited internal combustion engines. Avgas is distinguished...
such as gross weight, fuel weight and center of gravity. It will include altitudes including the initial cruise altitude. For aircraft that do not have a...
Tokyo tanks were internally mounted self-sealing fuel tanks used in the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers during World...
Global Information