Is this the death of GA

"Maxwell" wrote in
:


"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...
Jay Honeck wrote:
I never dug deep to find out why. I can only suppose they didn't
want to lose an airplane AND a building.

That's the rule here, too. We can have it parked right in front of
the hangar but no part of the airplane can be across the door
threshold. I assume it is for the reason you state.

Our FBO routinely fuels owner's aircraft in their hangars. Always
has.

Ten years ago, when we first moved into a hangar, we would return
from a flight, put the plane away, and flip a little red flapper up
on the door. Next time we came to the airport, the flapper was down,
the plane was fully fueled, and we'd get a bill at the end of the
month. God, I miss those days...

I think gas was, like, $1.74 per gallon -- and we bitched about it!

ELM, which is only 30 or so miles from where I live, lost a
maintenance hangar, 4 airplanes and lots of tools and spare parts due
to a fueling accident with an airplane inside the hangar. With the
fuel spreading across the floor, once it was ignited the hangar went
up almost instantly. Nobody was seriously injured, but even with the
airport fire department literally next door, the hangar was a total
loss.

What was the fuel doing on the floor, and what ignited it?


This is one rule that I believe is grounded in common sense.


I believe this is one rule that is grounded in common nonsense, and/or
simple negative fantasy. If your refueling procedure allows ANY chance
of fire, or even significant spill, that procedure needs to be changed
immediately.

Even aircraft tied down on a flight line are MUCH too close to each
other to afford a fire.

If we have any concerns of aircraft stored indoors, then we need to be
completely defueling them prior to storage or maintenance, just like
the airlines do. It would be just as easy to argue leaving fuel in an
aircraft while stored indoors is an unacceptable hazard as well. Then
if a fire does get started in the hanger, the aircraft is much less
likely to contribute to the problem.


There are a lot of factors in play during refueling that are not with
fuel at rest. One is the static charge induced by merely moving the fuel
down the hose, the vapor produced by pumping and the possible
concentration to a good ignition mixture in an enclosed space.


Bertie