ORIGINAL: JohnBuckner
Hmmm, So I suppose its good idea to go on ignoring the problem, then the first time someone forgets and hits the severely loaded engine with a good starter ripping the engine and firewall clear out of the airplane is a good idea? Most reasonable people would disagree and yes I have witnessed this more than once.
I have stated my opinon to the best of my abilitys and its growing tedious, I informed the orginal poster on how to get help and he seemed open to the idea in his last post in this thread I think he will do fine.
I will not respond in this thread anymore so oppose if you want to keep quoting me feel free. I am a poor typist and no longer interested in defending myself.
John
John I respect and like most of your posts, but I don't think you are right here.
You're assuming a worst case
- A starter should never rip the engine out at worst the starter will stall. Most novices DO NOT have high power electric starters and most use small starter cones that tend to loose grip when there is too much resistance.
This is no different than any other hydro-lock situation, but it is being thrown in for the sake of arguement, it is not a valid point.
- Most ARF's require a good degree of reworking to move the tank up or down as the ARF's are designed to fix the tank in the formers.
- Often this area is not accessible without cutting the covering, skin and fuselage, something that has to be repaired later.
- I'm sure you've seen the unsafe "repairs" novices show up with at the field. Advocating that they take a Dremel tool to an ARF in this situation could potentially be dangerous, far more so than the POTENTIAL for their starter locking up or spinning.
- Proper pre-start technique can overcome the relatively small siphoning problem. There is no real problem once the engine is started.
The frequent rehash of "tank height" issues is all too often mistaken to cause engine run problems, and that gets picked up and repeated by people who now have the wrong impression.... much like the "fuel stays in the back of the tank" myth which has been put to rest.
As such the proper advice would be to tell them to adjust the tank height to prevent siphoning, if it is at all possible without cutting the plane. If the latter is required, then they should seek the help of an experienced club member or use other techniques, e.g proper pre-flight, looping the line, etc..