Originally Posted by
gunradd
Hello SC
I would not do it this way with a twin. It defeats the whole purpose in having a twin for redundancy. You need to separate independent fuel systems IMO.
Also the center forward tank is way to big stock and shifts the CG so far forward. Joe plumbed his so he burns off the forward tank first so his CG will not change much the remainder of the flight since the saddles are close to the CG. DO NOT use that forward tank. I cut mine in half and its working great this way. My other friend with one Mike is using a jettech fuel cell in the front.
For a twin on this plane I would use 2 smaller tanks in the front or do as joe did and have the tank cut in half reduced and then slit whats left for separate sides. Also no need for high flow unless you are going single. Only reason I did high flow is because I will be dropping a K300 in when its ready also was having high PW issues that have since been resolved.
Hi Gunradd,
Thanks for the advice, I appreciate the help. The three tanks (1x4.6 & 2x2.7 liters) equal to about 246 oz of total capacity, I'm basing this off of their online manual. I'll measure the capacity once I have the tanks in hand. Each of the 180s burn ~20oz p/minute at full throttle, at 246 oz of total capacity that's about a 6 minute burn time. I don't plan on flying at full throttle the entire flight but I would like a 6-10minute flight plus spare fuel capacity. There doesn't seem to be a hugh margin, wouldn't reducing the fuel capacity work against me a little bit? What do you guys use as a rule of thumb on twins? I will be performing ground testing to help narrow this down, but any input is appreciated.
I'll look into splitting the center tank, I don't disagree with your logic regarding the two separate fuel systems.
Also, since we're on setup commentary. I see what you did with the air valves on the mains, which I'm considering as an option. I've also seen plenty of comments regarding hydraulic as well, but I'm wondering why no one is suggesting going electric. I've seen guys like Fenderbean build a nice install on a 1/7 Scale F15 using D&L's system, I like it. It's clean and looks reliable.
Is it cost, reliability or something else which is influencing folks not to suggest this, do you have an opinion by chance?
thanks in advance.
sc