I am looking for the most compact, lightweight, reliable and effective fire extinguisher to install in my plane. There are 2 lb automotive extinguishers for 30 bucks, aircraft fire extinguishers for hundreds and Home Depot has a wide range. Has anyone found a unit that they have had good luck with? Any words of caution or advice would be appreciated. Clippwagon or Oregonmaule?

Scolopax wrote:I am looking for the most compact, lightweight, reliable and effective fire extinguisher to install in my plane. There are 2 lb automotive extinguishers for 30 bucks, aircraft fire extinguishers for hundreds and Home Depot has a wide range. Has anyone found a unit that they have had good luck with? Any words of caution or advice would be appreciated. Clippwagon or Oregonmaule?

Funny you should ask...

http://www.backcountrypilot.org/forum/best-cockpit-fire-extinguisher-13292?p=178030#p178030

blackrock wrote:

Scolopax wrote:I am looking for the most compact, lightweight, reliable and effective fire extinguisher to install in my plane. There are 2 lb automotive extinguishers for 30 bucks, aircraft fire extinguishers for hundreds and Home Depot has a wide range. Has anyone found a unit that they have had good luck with? Any words of caution or advice would be appreciated. Clippwagon or Oregonmaule?

Funny you should ask...

http://www.backcountrypilot.org/forum/best-cockpit-fire-extinguisher-13292?p=178030#p178030

This is from the above thread (basically I'm a fan of Halon):

If you have a standing (puddle) fuel fire you want to use Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) and cover it to "smother" the fire and prevent the fuel/oxygen mixture required to sustain burning. Dry chem works too but won't prevent it from re-igniting.

If you have a flowing fuel fire (i.e. dripping from the wing, engine, etc.) you will want to use a Dry Chemical extinguisher on the dripping part and AFFF on the puddle on the ground.

For any fire contained in a confined space such as the engine cowling or cabin space Halon 1211 is a good option. It displaces the oxygen in the air to prevent combustion. It also displaces the oxygen in your lungs so use it sparingly and find clean air to breathe.

If you choose dry chem in the engine cowl instead of Halon you will likely still put the fire out but will also guarantee ruining your engine because the stuff gets everywhere and is corrosive! And in the cockpit, dry chem will obstruct your view and will also get into your lungs. Opening a window will only make it worse.

The Halon used today is reclaimed and therefore expensive. There's only a certain amount left in the states but I thought I heard once that Canada still manufactured it? Halotron is the replacement for Halon.

And my vote goes to inflight fires being way more common than fires on the ground (minus the mechanic shop).

CW

Understand of course that there is not a perfect solution to cover every situation.

I was on my way home from California to Oregon in the C180 with the family when we made our usual stop in Willows (WLW) for food and gas. As the family went inside to order some grub I stayed outside to call Wxbrief. While on the phone I watched a DA40 land and taxi to park right next the the C180. As he did, I noticed that his right main gear was on fire! I asked the briefer to "hold on a minute" and I ran across the tarmac yelling at the two people climbing out that their plane was on fire! I could see 12 inch flames shooting out from the wheel pant and could imagine in my head the wing/fuel catching fire and burning all of the airplanes parked in the line starting with ours! I yelled "give me your fire extinguisher" because every airplane has one right? He said he didn't have one . I said "you've gotta have one, are you sure?" Then I told him to push his airplane away from the others and I proceeded to get the little and vey expensive Halon extinguisher out of the C180 (which I knew would not do much for the wheel fire). I was able to make small applications to keep the fire at bay by hitting the flames every time it reignited while someone ran to the restaurant to get a big dry chemical extinguisher that I used to finally extinguish the fire. The local fire department came and finished cooling of the hot brake with water and I went to eat my dinner.

Turns out the guy had a stuck brake that was dragging and heating up. He was wondering why it was so difficult to taxi! I took pictures and was able to look up the N number determined the airplane was owned by an FBO as a rental. I called them and the owner gratefully offered to buy us a new extinguisher! They were replacing the entire right wing on their airplane due to flame impingement and heat damage!

All's well that ends well!

CW

That's quite a story CW! I.m glad that the fuel contained 18 inches above the fire didn't ignite.

Composite landing gear legs are strong and fatigue resistant, but metal gear legs offer a great arrangement for dissipating heat. There is a checkered service history for fiberglass landing gear legs with respect to brake fires.