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Forum Veteran Joined: Nov 07, 2003 Posts: 902

Hi guys,

am I right to state that the refuelling point of the Viper is on the port side while the defuelling point is on the starboard side?

The motivation of the question is from this photo with the caption 'E-176 about to be defuelled'. A crew is holding the hose, working on the port side of the Viper. Well, he might be making his way to the starboard side. I thought I just ask the above Q.

Also in the photo, 2 crews are working on the wing tank, can you defuel a wing tank Shocked

?

TIA, Very Happy

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Newbie Joined: Jan 23, 2004 Posts: 16

You are correct, Defueling is done from the Starboard side. As far as defueling a wing tank, to my knowledge the only way to defuel them is transfer them into the wings. Cause I don't think you would want to drain 370 Gallons from the drain holes on the underside of the tank. Take Care.

Forum Veteran Joined: Nov 07, 2003 Posts: 902

hi srf24rulz, welcome onboard!

Thanks for the response. I guess the crews must be inspecting the tank then.

cheers, Very Happy

Active Member Joined: Apr 08, 2004 Posts: 193

During the defuel, the aircraft is pressurised, so the externals emtpy just like the rest. It would take you 8 hours to drain those tanks, lol

Forum Veteran Joined: Nov 07, 2003 Posts: 902

no kidding Tankrat! 8 hours! That is what it takes for a fully fueled Viper, I guess.

Pumpkin,

Using the drains would take a long period of time. But there are two ways to defuel the external fuel tanks. One is to transfer fuel into the aircraft internal tanks which naturally you would have to have fuel removed from the aircraft. Two would be to take the cap off the top of the external tank and insert a hose which at the other end is fitted with an adapter that connects to the fuel truck refuel/defuel hose. The you just suck it out using the defuel setting of the truck. And if you want the irritate the guys at the fuel shop..........leave a little extra in the tanks when you turn it in to the fuel shop. They alway appreciate that! lol

chickenlegs

(tankrat, are you a fuel shopper? Seems that way by your response)

Have a good day!

Active Member Joined: Apr 08, 2004 Posts: 193

Yea, I am a Fuel Shop guy, I dont mind if the AMU brings tanks in with gas in them anymore, we are turning all the issusing and recieving of tanks over to them, They own them, they can get it there selves, lol.

Tankrat

Forum Veteran Joined: Nov 07, 2003 Posts: 902

chickenlegs, I guess I misunderstood tankrat's reply. I was under the impression, it will take 8 hours to defuel the Viper by the 1st method that you have reiterated.

Thanks again guys. Very Happy

Newbie Joined: Jan 23, 2004 Posts: 16

I am a fuel shopper and AMU brings the tanks in all the time with fuel in the tank. I get the last laugh when the C/C who is walking the tank, holds it steady then the tank slams down on top of his fingers because they didn't want to drain the tank. It doesn't bother me that there is fuel in the tank anymore, cause like Tankrat said, we too are turning the issueing and receiving back to the AMU. Their Asset, they can take the time to fetch the tank.

Take Care

Newbie Joined: Apr 20, 2004 Posts: 5 Status: Offline

With a good crew chief workin the cockpit a full jet can be defueled in about 15 mins.

You can also remove fuel from the aircraft into the tanks, upto their maximum cap using a "wrap around hose" Defuling the tanks from the drain can go quicker but also more messy, if the tank is pressurized when doing it.

I prefer the "wrap around method". Just don't let a 3 level do it......trust me

Newbie Joined: Jan 03, 2005 Posts: 14 Status: Offline

It really used to piss me off when the crew chiefs were too lazy to defuel the tanks all the way and they would say there is a "little" Fuel left in the tank. Then when you would pick it up with the jammer, and someone was walking the tank, they either almost broke their back trying to carry it, or you had to go and defuel it the rest of the way to find out there was like 20 gallons still in the nose!

It was a cold dark night at MacDill (ok, as cold and as dark as Tampa really ever got...) and some of our crew had just hung a centerline tank. A couple of guys were out with the fuel truck filling the tank 'over-the-wing' for a transfer check while we were watching from the Bread Van. It seemed to be taking a long time to fill when one of the guys in the truck noticed what looked like fuel coming from the bottom of the tank. Observation #1, a person can hold a lot of fuel in a tank with the palm of your hand while laying on the ground. Observation #2, always check for the drain plug before you fill a tank.

We raced off for the tank farm with a wrench - I jumped out of the truck at a suitable (or so I thought) candidate - crawled down under the tank, and quickly removed the drain plug of another (Oops...) 'not completely empty' tank. Observation #3, always check that a tank is empty before you CANN a drain plug as a replacement for the missing one... Observation #4, once half of the crew is laying under centerline tanks trying to hold fuel in, there are less people to try and find more drain plugs.

It was a Three Stooges kind of night...
Mike Kopack

I hate it when that happens. We're in a cycle now of changing those plugs. They have a tendency to get damaged when they are constantly battered by the cable.

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Forum: F-16 Procedures

Refueling and defueling the Viper