In flight fires

[Jerrytex]

In the area that I live, an experimental Ravin 500 went down the other day due to what is believed an in flight fire. There was a recent post on this forum about a Kitfox speedster that went down from what is believed to be an in flight fire. Just curious to know what others are doing to prevent and or combat this if it happens. It seems like the majority of the time if there is an in flight fire, the result is a fatality. I am going to carry a halon fire extingusher but are there other safeguards? Opinions, suggestions? Thanks.

[rogerh12]

FYI ....

For those of you who have not yet had a fuel leak inside the aircraft of a aircraft, don't put anything on the floor that can absorb and hold fuel (including insulation). Beter yet, install a small screen on the bottom fabric to let fuel out, if nessisary. The kitfox has a great deal of fuel passing though the cabin, beter safe then .... well you know.

Roger

[Paul Z]

FYI ....

For those of you who have not yet had a fuel leak inside the aircraft of a aircraft, don't put anything on the floor that can absorb and hold fuel (including insulation). Beter yet, install a small screen on the bottom fabric to let fuel out, if nessisary. The kitfox has a great deal of fuel passing though the cabin, beter safe then .... well you know.

Roger

And believe me the plastic header tank can leak! I have posted some photos of my tank prior to replacing it!

[rogerh12]

A few things about heat wrap. Yes, I use it and it works. I use it for several reasons, such as not wanting to melt my close fitting fiberglass cowling, and it protects me from burns when working on my engine hot (zenith 601) However, having said that, don't use it unless you really need it. It does increase the heat on the pipes and does crack them (guess how I know).
When they crack, you can't tell until the crack is really bad and spewing hot exhast, then it might soon be too late..

A better idea is to heat wrap the things next to the pipe, if they can be burned or heat damaged if the pipe cracks. Also, check your exhuast pipes on a regular bases, use a mirror if neccesary.

Hope this helps
Roger

[szicree]

I recall being told by the guy who made my RV-4 exhaust that the heat wraps will wreck the tubes. Better to use the metal heat shields that stands a bit off the pipe.

[DesertFox4]

+ 1 to what Roger and Steve said about the exhaust wrap. Heat shields work with little or no unintended consequences. Recent reading on Van's Airforce website adds to the idea that the down side may outweigh the benefits.
Premature failure of the exhaust system seems to be the general consensus.

If choosing that route increased vigilance very well may be needed to keep the exhaust system in safe operating condition.

[RobS]

Always good to reread/review the standard procedures for dealing with an in-flight fire. Here is an AOPA flight training article that is worth reading - not sure if you have to be a member to access this:

http://flighttraining.aopa.org/students/flighttestprep/skills/fire.html

[Dave S]

In flight fires - Whew!

That is a subject any of us hopes never to have to deal with. This may seem a little simplistic; but, it probably boils down to two things.

1) Prevention
2) What to do if you get one.

I think the second thing is best dealt with via our emergency procedure training and such resources as the AOPA reference which has been mentioned. An adjunct to this is any of us building; when we put our pilot's operating manual together for the airplane we are building, need to be very thoughtful concerning the nature of the systems we have built and give careful consideration to emergency procedures specific to our build. Nobody knows better than the builder. Simple straightforward emergency procedures in the cockpit are pretty important since the second failure following a system failure can often involve one's brain and it is good to have something written down to compensate for that.

Prevention is painted with a pretty broad brush stroke; however, it boils down to:
a) Building to minimize fire risk
b) Maintaining to minimize fire risk
c) Operating to minimize fire risk

I'll throw out a challenge. Information sharing can hopefully be of use to the entire community.

In your Kitfox experience, what have you done to:

a) Build to minimize fire risk
b) Maintain to minimize fire risk
c) Operate to minimize fire risk

If each person comes up with one good idea, it might help us all.

Sincerely,

Dave S.
KF 7 Trigear

[BigJohn]

I know that it should go without saying but an ounce of prevention is worth a lb of cure or in this case an inflight fire. I was checking my fuel lines a couple of months ago and saw what seemed to be a small sign of ageing on one, After further inspection and pulling off lines I found that they were showing severe signs internally of age, I took the ounce of prevention and replaced all fuel lines from the tanks all the way to the carbs, and put in a new vent line.

In addition I put shut off's (I know the controversy) one on each side to shut off any specific fuel tank if needed, again an option to prevent further fuel into the cockpit area if needed and It has not hindered any flow.

I also a few months prior noticed on the fuel sight gauges that they were beginning to show signs of age and replaced them with the new style that Kitfox has, I should have at that time checked the entire system I would have found then I should have replaced all the lines. I also carry an extinguisher but it would only be good for the most minor fire.

[jonbakerok]

That Ravin was running a recently installed Corvette conversion, complete with high-pressure automotive fuel injection.

Maybe it's just coincidence, but it seems like every time I hear about a crash caused by an in-flight fire, it's an auto conversion and fuel injection. That was true of the one Kitfox fire and crash that I'm aware of, which had a way-too-big Subaru installed up front. And there was also an RV6 with a Chevy V6 conversion in Oklahoma that I remember from about 8 years ago. And Bud's previous crash four years ago was another Corvette conversion.

I don't mean to diminish the issue. Frankly, the Kitfox fuel system has always worried me, and I'm plumbed most of my cockpit in aluminum for that very reason. But since most of us are running a carb with gravity feed, at least if something breaks we won't be pumping fuel on a hot engine at 35 PSI!