If you have bladder tank, it can have a hole punched in the
bladder when the nozzle is inserted too far. The proper
method is to have the hose over your back and the weight is
supported by the shoulder. The nozzle should not be more
than 2 inches inside the filler, but the nozzle should make
electrical contact with the tank and a ground wire should be
connected from the truck to the airplane and to the ground.
Also, a protective mat should be place around the filler to
prevent accidental damage.


--
James H. Macklin
ATP,CFI,A&P

--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
some support
http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm
See http://www.fija.org/ more about your rights and duties.


"Kyle Boatright" wrote in message
...
| How do the rest of you deal with careless linemen? The
kind who scratch
| your airplane or chip the paint because they are either
careless or have not
| been properly trained on how to avoid damaging aircraft
when refueling 'em.
|
| Case in point - this afternoon I stopped by the airport to
prep for a trip
| to the beach tomorrow. I grabbed a couple of maps and the
handheld gps from
| the airplane while the lineman was getting ready to fuel
the airplane. By
| the time I grabbed those things, the lineman had already
filled the left
| tank, and there was a brand spankin' new paint chip near
the fuel filler on
| the tank. How do I know it was brand new? Because I'd
just wiped off a nice
| collection of bugs from the airplane, and it wasn't
chipped then... Anyway,
| I eased over to see how he was coming with the other tank,
and he had the
| entire 10" long nozzle in the right tank and was using a
notch in the fuel
| nozzle's handle to catch the edge of the fuel filler neck
to provide a
| mechanical stop.
|
| I say "hey, let me show you something" and show him that
the sharp corner of
| the casting is resting on the fuel filler. He pulls the
nozzle out of the
| tank, and there is a noticable mark on the paint where he
was resting the
| nozzle. He said he didn't realize he was doing that. I
didn't point out
| the new chip on the other wing, which I speculate was
caused by either the
| same technique, or the other technique I've seen many
times, where the
| lineman puts the nozzle into the tank at a 45 degree
angle, and the weight
| of the nozzle rests on the painted edge of the fuel
filler.
|
| This is my home airport, and the guy was nice enough, so I
didn't make an
| issue out of it, but it is really frustrating to have
avoidable dings and
| chips on your airplane when it costs $5k or $10k to have
the thing
| repainted...
|
| BTW, self serve is not an option at my home field, which
is why I usually go
| elsewhere for fuel. That and the high prices that are
caused by having to
| pay the "fuel truck guy" to hang around the airport all
day long when there
| really isn't much fuel being sold...
|
| Also, now that I'm giving this more thought, I need to see
if the guy dented
| the bottom of my fuel tanks by sticking the nozzle so far
in there...
| Sheesh...
|
|
|
|
|