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7 Answers

Practice Spin fuel imbalance in T-37

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Aerodynamics, Aircraft Systems, Flight Instructor, General Aviation

If imbalance is more than 70 lbs we have to adjust it by putting fuel system on gravity feed. If left wing is high then give left rudder and turn right. Why we give left rudder??? If we just start turning rt in right bank then it should reduce. why we give left rudder?

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7 Answers



  1. Bob Watson on Feb 10, 2014

    I’m not a T-37 pilot, but it sounds like the procedure recommends slipping to force the fuel from one tank to the other. If you made a coordinated turn, there’d be no lateral force to move the fuel from one side to the other.

    I’m thinking that you would want to slip such that the ball in the turn coordinator is on the side of the emptier tank. In the case you described, adding left rudder in a right turn will cause the ball to swing to the right (the emptier tank).

    I suppose this technique would work in any plane with a fuel system that has a setting that connects the left and right tanks together. Although I’m not sure how fast the fuel would flow between tanks in a C-172 for example.

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  2. rizwan on Feb 10, 2014

    If we just turn the aircraft without applying rudder ,won’t under gravity feed fuel will flow from heavier towards emptier tank??? or applying left rudder as in the above case will increase the flow rate

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  3. Wes Beard on Feb 11, 2014

    Rizwan,
    I think your right about the issue. Gravity should cause the fuel to flow to the lighter tank. By putting the aircraft into a slip it should tip the tank over so it flow faster.

    The coordinated turn Bob mentioned takes the lift vector and splits them into a vertical and horizontal component. The vertical lift must equal gravity and the horizontal lift causes the airplane to turn. The gravity component is still there. If I’m wrong about your statement Bob please correct me.

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  4. Bob Watson on Feb 11, 2014

    I could have been clearer: I meant that in a coordinated turn, there’d be no lateral force felt in the plane (either by the fuel or the pilot). Hence the need to fly an uncoordinated maneuver to get the fuel to flow sideways from one wing to the other.

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  5. rizwan on Feb 13, 2014

    thanks a lot

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  6. reza zare on Feb 14, 2014

    Rizwan
    I think , when the left tank is heavier than right tank it means your aircraft is turning to the left and you need to push left rudder to coordinate your turn and you have to turn right to neutralize the overbanking tendency specially when the left tank is heavy .

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  7. Brian on Feb 22, 2014

    Just think how it feels on your body. Do you feel like you are falling against the side of the airplane in a coordinated turn? I know I don’t, even 60+ degrees. How do you feel when you slip in a 60 degree bank? I feel like I’m falling against the side if the airplane toward the low wing. Don’t?

    Ok, the fuel and the rest of the plane experiences these same forces.

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