Legend has it that all-metal types, and “plastic” types with metal tanks (e.g. Diamond) are the best.
Are there any “plastic” types with wet tanks, so if the composite breaks the fuel spills out?
Then there are the homebuilt kits / ultralights with unprotected clear plastic fuel pipework.
A glider ?
@172driver you will be surprised, I saw a “pure fibre glass glider” burning on tarmac guess what? excessive breaking after landing…
Peter wrote:
Are there any “plastic” types with wet tanks, so if the composite breaks the fuel spills out?
Cirrus have wet tanks, which is why they can catch fire when the landing goes awry…..it’s the only thing I dislike about them….
Steve6443 wrote:
Cirrus have wet tanks
What is a wet and what a dry tank ?
Heavy fuel is significantly less likely to catch fire than avgas.
Light aircraft burning Jet-A – fuel that’s more difficult to ignite in an aircraft with a low touchdown speed (in other words, in a controlled crash, less likely to rupture the tanks in the first place).
Two funny examples (not GA) comes to my mind:
- A Canadair CL-215 fully loaded (water not fuel)
- A Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird that leaks fuel
Ibra wrote:
- A Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird that leaks fuel
For extra fun, an SR-71 that leaks both fuel and triethylborane.
Can’t test it unfortunately, SR71s I have seen in museums smells more like old book archives than aviation diesel…
Re-usable boosters in Elson Musk Rockets have some of that magic mix, except the first two batches they seem more safe now