Twice in my flying carrier I have been fortunate enough to escape being in an airplane that had a very high probability of catching on fire. The first time was many years ago ferrying a Stinson L5 Sentinel. I had taken off after refueling a few minutes earlier when I noticed that my foot was wet. Looking under the panel I was shocked to see fuel running from under the panel and dripping in a steady stream onto my leg and shoe. I immediately killed the master to eliminate electrical as a source of ignition and immediately returned to the airport landing as carefully and quickly as possible. I was very afraid that the exhaust which terminated immediately below the fabric covered belly would catch the gas on fire. Fortunately all turned out well and a repair to the fuel selector solved the problem. Since that time I have always been extra cautious when doing anything with aircraft fuel systems.
Today I took the elderly friend, who introduced me to flight in small airplanes, for perhaps his last flight. Little did I know how close that statement almost became true for the both of us. After flying for about an hour, in which he piloted over 20 minutes, we landed and put the plane in the hanger. He was so happy and thankful for the flight opportunity that it made my day.
After seeing him off I returned to the hanger and as I approached the plane this is what I saw.
To say the least I was shocked beyond belief. I immediately de-cowled the plane to find the source of the leak. At first the source was not apparent however after turning on the boost pump fuel started spraying out of the fuel pressure source line where it attached to the fuel pump. After about a minute I had a two foot diameter puddle under the plane.
After removing the line I determined that the line had cracked under the B nut sleeve. Obviously a stainless braided line will be ordered Monday morning.
Lesson learned for me is that there is no place for copper tubing in a pressure situation on an airplane. I've had primer lines crack on certified airplanes in the past and should have replaced the darned thing before. My plane only has about 300 hours on it so I wasn't really all that concerned and was waiting to do it during a skyview upgrade I will be doing in a couple of months.
I was so lucky today as I was planning on a three hour trip this morning but cancelled to take my old friend flying. At no time during the flight did I ever smell gas nor have any idea there was a leak. Sometimes I guess good deeds pay off and the lord above takes care of us fools.
Now if someone will just tell me how to get the gas stains off the belly I will be most grateful.
Today I took the elderly friend, who introduced me to flight in small airplanes, for perhaps his last flight. Little did I know how close that statement almost became true for the both of us. After flying for about an hour, in which he piloted over 20 minutes, we landed and put the plane in the hanger. He was so happy and thankful for the flight opportunity that it made my day.
After seeing him off I returned to the hanger and as I approached the plane this is what I saw.
To say the least I was shocked beyond belief. I immediately de-cowled the plane to find the source of the leak. At first the source was not apparent however after turning on the boost pump fuel started spraying out of the fuel pressure source line where it attached to the fuel pump. After about a minute I had a two foot diameter puddle under the plane.
After removing the line I determined that the line had cracked under the B nut sleeve. Obviously a stainless braided line will be ordered Monday morning.
Lesson learned for me is that there is no place for copper tubing in a pressure situation on an airplane. I've had primer lines crack on certified airplanes in the past and should have replaced the darned thing before. My plane only has about 300 hours on it so I wasn't really all that concerned and was waiting to do it during a skyview upgrade I will be doing in a couple of months.
I was so lucky today as I was planning on a three hour trip this morning but cancelled to take my old friend flying. At no time during the flight did I ever smell gas nor have any idea there was a leak. Sometimes I guess good deeds pay off and the lord above takes care of us fools.
Now if someone will just tell me how to get the gas stains off the belly I will be most grateful.
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