Thorp Air Command - T18.net

I am interested in knowing if any of our members have used a fuel tank for additional range that was mounted in the pax seat.
Would like to hear pros and cons of something with a capacity of around 18 - 20 gallons and I'm not talking about fire hazard. Pax weight normally figured at 170 lbs--about 25 gallons of fuel the same and should be OK as far as weight and balance. Must be easily removeable as in take it or leave it.

Hi Dave!! good to hear from you, been flyin that perty Bird?...Dan (not an expert just wanted to say Hi)

David, if you want significantly more fuel...I'd suggest 2 8 gal drop tanks. Go to Http://vimeo.com/2985919 and you'll see the 5.5 gal drop tanks that I developed that Lee Walton has on his bird.

I am just finishing up a set of tanks that are going to Australia.

_________________
Tom Hunter
805-202-4261

Although I love my Tom Hunter fuel pods, I think they involve a bit more than Dave wants to chew off at this point. Dave, as I've mentioned several people have flown with an aux tank in the pass seat (James Peran/Don Taylor/Clive Channing)).

The least invasive install in your airplane would be to change out the on-off fuel selector with a 3-way on-off-aux selector. Then buy a 15 gallon aux tank (try northern tool), plumb it to a facet pump (mounted somewhere on the tank), with an on-off switch and a cord to ships power (with a nice plug on the end), and then you can run a line from the tank to the aux end of the selector. Use the seat belt/harness to strap it in and go. Take off/Land using N118GG's gravity feed, then turn the pump on, switch to aux on the selector, run it down for 1:40, then go back to the main and shut the pump off.

One warning though, make sure it's a nice clean install or the Thorp police will come get you! That's one of my favorite T-18's you have.

As I said the wing pods are great but to install them on an operational airplane involves a bit of work. Dropping the wing, plumbing, fuel selectors, building the mounts (for and aft), cutting/modifying the gap covers, paint, etc.

From what I gather Dave wants a simple "no tear up" solution.

_________________
Lee Walton
Houston, TX
N51863,N118LW
KEFD

As the baggage compartment can hold about 100 pounds and you want that much gas, I would install a race car tank there. An in tank pump and plump it into the main line with a shut off valve. With that much total fuel you would have about 6.0 hours ? Not sure I would want to R & R a tank in the pax seat unless I wanted to long range to PHNA ! If you really want to put something in the pax seat, then I would probably look at a ferry bladder tank enclosed in a "box." Then you could strap it to the seat. Not sure about the plumbing ?

RB

Rich.

I nearly meet my maker , because of weight in the rear.Burned of the main tank to a 1/4 and when i tried to land the tail come down first it was so bad that the wing tips touched the ground.. Managed to land
no flaps and flat approuch 100 miles an hour. I got a 64 liter steel drum modifyed with a sight gauge &,lock off valve. External breather and heave an earth cable. Have to take the RH stick out to get full movement. It's very safe.. As you know i looked at tanks in the rear but because my W.B cannot do safely

J.P.

*** admin posted for James Peran ***

_________________
Forum Administrator

This has been brought up before but here are the options regarding aux fuel ...

1.) Wet Wings (either inboard or outboard) .. (outboard if you have a "C" wing) 24 or 32 gallons respectively (or less).
2.) Baggage compartment tank (check the old NL's), usually around 10-15 gallons.
3.) Tom Hunters fuel pods (I have a set, they work great) either 12 or 16 gallons depending on the size.
4.) Portable pax seat tank (as we're discussing)
5.) Some have made under the seat tanks, not much fuel can be stored there.

For the record I'm not advocating the pax seat tank for the masses but a lot of guys do similar in different types of aircraft. I've seen it in RV-4s, Sonerais, and ultralites. For Dave's requirements (portable and easy to install), that seems to be the leading solution (as "rigged" as it may seem).

_________________
Lee Walton
Houston, TX
N51863,N118LW
KEFD

I hope I did not mislead anyone when I said the baggage compartment can hold 100 lbs. It may or may not meet that capacity depending upon your W & B. Plan accordingly. My piss poor bladder is good for about 3 hours, then it is time to drink and drain ! [:p] Your bladder may vary. [;)]

RB

Rich, I guess I can't haul anymore Model A motors in the trunk.

I was thinking of you and those boat anchors !

RB

Sorry to attach a new topic to this thread but I have tried to start a afresh and the web page keeps dropping out.
My name is Alan Fraser and I am just completing my S18 here in the UK and have applied for a permit to test. The LAA (Light Aircraft Asociation) are questioning some of the figures I have used on my
application and I would really appreciate if someone could confirm the following:

1. MTOW?
2. Datum for the weight and balance?
3. Fwd and Aft c of g limits?

regards,

Alan

The NL's give a wealth of information on the weight and balance issues as do the Thorplist archives. NL 136 has John Thorp's data for the weight and balance. I believe it is a photo copy of his data ? I have one somewhere ? NL's 186, 276 and 61 also have W & B data.

The main page of the Forum has the MTOW for the S-18.
FWD & AFT CG's limits set by JT 62.5 to 71.0. Datum 55 inches foward of the leading edge of the wing, also set by JT. Several people have spread sheets for the S-18. I used the WINN Balance program I got from Spruce.



RB

Thanks for responding Rich.
Found a copy of the JT W & B.

Alan