At 10:25 29/05/01 -0700, Faure, Marin, wrote
I asked
>the mechanics who work on the planes I fly what the old Taylorcrafts,
>Piper Cubs, etc., used for floats in their gas tanks, which were mounted
>in front of the cockpit. A float in the tank was attached to a vertical
>rod that
>stuck up through the cowling in front of you. As you used fuel, the rod
>would
>get shorter as the float moved down in the tank. The rod may have been
>calibrated
>in gallons
It's going back a bit but as I recall none of the Aeroncas, Cubs, or
Taylorcraft I flew had any markings on the rod although why not is beyond
me. It would have been simplicity in itself to at least mark quarter and
half marks in paint on the things.
As for the floats, yes they were cork but I also saw one that consisted of
a ping pong ball expoxied or something to the end of the rod.
Given the weirdnesses I later saw in more complex aircraft fuel sensing
systems I sometimes wondered whether bits of coat hanger stuck on lumps of
cork might not have been more appropriate technology.
As for Land Rover fuel floats. Mine in the SII is a metal cylinder. A
couple of years back I pulled it out in my attempt to fix some gauge
problems and I discovered it to be partially flooded as a result of a pin
hole leak. I got the gas out of it by putting the float on a small
electric hot plate outside and heating it for about an hour and then
soldering the hole.
Rick Grant
1959 Series II "88"
VORIZO
Rick Grant Communications
Media and Crisis Management
Calgary Ottawa
www.rickgrant.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue May 29 2001 - 15:54:24 EDT