On Jul 24, 11:55 am, wrote:
In rec.aviation.owning Stealth Pilot wrote:
: when you do it make sure you have an earth connection between the
: aircraft and the container. this can be as simple as a piece of fence
: wire in the container touching the aircraft so as to bleed static
: differences between the two. more elaborate would be a piece of
: automotive wire with a crocodile clip on each end clipped between the
: aircraft and the container.
: with static taken care of you worst problem is spillage.

: when you have the time go and get a copy of the regs and read them
: yourself. it isnt difficult to understand them and you will have in
: your memory an authoritative picture of them. the world gets easier
: after that.

: when you put the fuel back into the aircraft just pour it through a
: funnel with a micromesh filter in it, they are as cheap as chips in
: discount automotive shops and they exclude crud and water.

: Stealth Pilot

My setup for doing this is the same as what I use to haul cargas to the airport for my plane. I
use a few plastic, 6-gallon cans. To minimize the risk of contamination (from bad service station fuel
with sludge, water, stuff in the cans, etc), I rigged a water-absorbing spin-on fuel filter with a
pour-spout that will screw into the can. Then I just move the filtering pour spout from one can to the
other as I dump it in.

I minimize the electrical arcing risk by *ALWAYS* touching the filtering pour spout (which is
metal BTW) with one hand while I touch the wing with my other some distance away from the fuel tank
filler neck. Then while tipping the can into the neck, I maintain grounding with my fingers until the
metal spout makes contact with the plane. Sounds complicated, but it's not... prevents the possibility
of arcing where it counts (at the filler neck) even with plastic fuel containers.

I've never found any crude in sumping the tanks since I started using the filter 4 years ago.
Before then there was always a bit of water and the occasional bits of particles from the cargas.
Defueling and refueling just means one more trip through the filtering pour spout.

-Cory

--

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss, Ph.D., PPSEL-IA *
* Electrical Engineering *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
************************************************** ***********************

I've never had to off-load fuel but just in case....

For plastic containers (with plastic spouts) and a plastic siphon hose
from the wing tank to the container which is sitting on the tarmac,
what's the best way to ground and avoid static build up?

--Jeff