Hi, fellow rotary enthusiasts.  I am building an SQ2000 canard

pusher

with a 13B. I have two

strake fuel tanks that would be considered "mid-wing". I plan on

having

a fuel line from each tank

into my approximately 2 gallon sump tank, and from there it will

go

to

the fuel pumps, fuel rail,

and to the regulator.  My question is, is it best to have the

unused

return fuel from the fuel

pressure regulator go back into the sump tank, or run a seperate

line

back up into one of the fuel

strake tanks?
    I am getting ready to put the top on the second strake tank,

and

it

would be best to install

any and all fuel lines before the top goes on permanently.
     Thanks so much for your suggestions. Hope to see as many

rotaries

as possible at Sun-N-Fun

soon.   Paul Conner

Hello Paul,

    In the homebuilts I have been involved in we have always ended

up

with

the return going back to the header tank and they have all worked

well.

Some

of the considerations were the length of fuel lines and the number

of

fittings, the balance of fuel and tank selection issues ( keep in

mind

fuel

management is a big killer, kiss ) and the the use of fuel

totalisers. I

think the most important thing is to make the system as effective as
possible and simple as possible. I'd say close that strake tank in

and

go

with the header tank return.

John

PS You need to test that the engine will run with low fuel levels

and

very

high attitudes but I would also suggest that if you don't use a

header

tank

testing to make sure you dont run into problems if you run off

"BOTH"

with

one tank empty.

John....thanks for the reply and information.  If I were to run my

return to

the header tank, might it be beneficial to have the return fitting on

the

bottom of the header tank, so the returned fuel would be forced into the
existing fuel, rather than dropping in from above and possibly mixing

with

air between the top of the header tank and the top of the fuel level

inside

the tank?  (Aerating), or would it be more difficult for the unused fuel

to

be forced up into the existing fuel in the header tank?   Thanks again.
Paul Conner

Paul,
    I don't think it  would really matter to much one way or the other, I
seen both and if memory serves me correctly, the lines were plumbed where it
was convenient with regards to the airframe. Also two gallons at cruise is
probably 15 minutes or so and the viscosity of fuel is much lower than oil.
How long does it take engine oil to shed its air and return to service ?

John

 
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