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5 Answers

Da-20 C1 fuel pump

Asked by: 5802 views Aircraft Systems

I was told by an instructor that the fuel pump for the 2005 DA-20 C1 Eclipse can be left on at all times rather than just for takeoff and landing.  Is this correct?

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5 Answers



  1. Gary Moore on Jun 19, 2012

    What’s the POH say?

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  2. David on Jun 19, 2012

    it says to turn the fuel pump off in cruise flight but this cfi told me to keep it on at all times…i was just wondering if there is any advantage or disadvantage to doing so

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  3. Jim Foley on Jun 19, 2012

    Turn it off in accordance with the POH.  It’s been years since I regularly flew the DA20, but I think you turn it on for takeoff, landing, and maneuvers.  Now, I don’t think it would be harmful to have it on, but it may wear the pump out a lot quicker.  I would be very cautious taking lessons from a CFI who tells you to do something when the POH says something completely different.  That’s just not at good mentality for one to have, and those books were written for the exact purpose of telling you how to safely and efficiently fly the aircraft.

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  4. Ben Plowman on Jun 20, 2012

    Not withstanding the Cruise section of the poh, the last page of the normal operating procedures section states:
    “turn fuel pump on for all low throttle operations, including taxiing and all flight operations when engine speed could fall below 1400 RPM (eg. stalls, descents, spins, landings, etc.)”
    If your current lessons involve maneuvering and landing, the sentence above could be the reason why he’s telling you to leave it on.  The only time (poh in normal operating procedures) the fuel pump is off is in cruise.
    Good question for your instructor, see what he says…
    safe flying

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  5. Wes Beard on Jun 20, 2012

    I was thinking there was a statement in the POH about a certain RPM to have the fuel pump on.  This information I am providing is for a Piper Cherokee series but is also valid for a DA20 in my opinion.  
     
    I was talking with the chief mechanic at my flight school a long time ago and we were specifically talking about the fuel pump.  He seemed to indicate that using the fuel pump when the RPM was high is counter productive.  He said there is an engine driven fuel pump that will output more PSI than than the fuel pump and when the fuel pump is operating the engine driven pump is bypassed.
     
    In the end, not only were the fuel pumps wearing out faster than normal but there was a real chance of having a low fuel pressure situation by using it. 

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