The Fuel tubing in the Velocity is 3/8″ 3003 Aluminum tubing. The line from each tank’s fuel outlet drain directly to the sump tank so there is no need for a fuel selector valve. The sump exits to a shut-off valve (with a T-handle control on the pilot’s side of the keel) and exits to the firewall. All three tanks vent to a common header that drains out the bottom of the aircraft. To avoid draining the tanks inadvertently during upset flight, and to allow vent air to enter the tanks should the vent drain become blocked (with ice or insect debris), a vacuum breaker is installed to allow cabin air to enter the tanks.

Late in the build, I wasn’t entirely happy with the fuel plumbing (the bends, etc. didn’t come out quite as nicely as I would have liked), and I wanted to remove the sump anyway, to do the condition inspection and verify that everything on the whale tail was properly tightened. So, I decided that I would go ahead and install shut-off valves from each strake tank to facilitate maintenance. Here you can see that they were installed with a pair of 90 degree elbows, and were safetied into the open position with wire ties.

Fuel Tubing	Fuel Routing
Fuel Lines and Vents	Shut-off Valve
Fuel Shut-off Handle	Fuel Shut-off valves in Stake-to-Sump Line

Posted By: Brett Ferrell
Friday April 19th, 2002 at 9:35 PM

Categories: Strakes
Tags: Building Fuselage Strakes Sump