My airplane holds 96 gallons of fuel and it's all inboard of the wing strut. When it's full it's really slow in the roll axis. The good news is there are no bladders and it is gravity fed.

Superdave wrote: The good news is there are no bladders and it is gravity fed.

I thought bladders were considered "safer" for backcountry applications. That might be an OWT; however, both tanks and bladders have their pluses and minuses. Bladders will eventually wear out (after a loooong time if you keep them full) but trust me a leaking tank is a b*tch.

Cheers,

Chris

I've got Monarch tanks which are some sort of composite. Bladders wrinkle on the bottom making a dam for water which gets to the carb usually at the most inopportune time. 55 gal usable with a thirsty motor I had the same problem as Lance. Another nice thing about wing tanks is 600lbs sits pretty much on the CG and with BAS fold up seats and extended baggage there is a huge area for stuff.

Lance,

About 12 years ago, I faced the same dilemma you are. My choices were to modify my existing tanks to the long range configuration (about 50 gallons) the baggage tank, or the Flint tanks.

I rejected the baggage tank for the very same reasons you list. I agree with you wholly. They also require pumping fuel up through a line, within the passenger compartment. Lots of aft CG, etc.

I opted for the Flint tanks.

If I had it to do again, I'd modify my tanks to the 175 or late 172 configuration. Heres why:

The Flint tanks give you lots of range, but they are WAAAAYYY out there as far as arm goes. I don't particularly like taxiing with them full, and I try to never land with them even partiallly full. There is a lot of arm out there.

They require pumps. Pumps mean weight, complexity and questionable reliability. I've never had one fail, but..... they could. I always get the gas out of them as early as I can.

With the Flint tanks, you almost have too much fuel. Course you can just not fill them, but then how much fuel do you have. I think 50 gallons is about right for one of these machines.

Weight is going to be slightly higher with the Flint tanks. Performance is all about weight. Keep it light, keep it simple.

Filling the Flint tanks means you have to fill four tanks. More fooling around, more fillers, more vents, more fuel drains to go bad, etc.

Those are my thoughts. The Flint tanks have worked flawlessly for a long time, and I've never had problems with them. They are quality built and work well, so the decision should be based on your needs, not the quality of the stuff.

MTV

I would agree with MTV. Not having a Cessna product but having something similar to the Flint tanks. I carry 42 gal in the mains and an additional 11.5 in each of the aux. tanks for almost a 6 hour endurance. They are at the furthest point in the wing and I make every attempt to not land with them full. In fact, I won't use them unless it is a two and half hour first leg or ferrying fuel back to the hangar (carefully). I'm really only good for three myself anyway. That having been said, I love going to places like Idaho and arriving with full mains for several days of playing. It's all about compromise. I know a number of guys that don't have trouble flying with jugs in the back seat and rat hole the fuel somewhere along the way. I'll take 15-gallon jugs with the back seat out (yes, the jugs have O-rings) and keep 30-gallons at the cabin just in case. The trade off of course is that the moment arm of jugs inside is off set by the presence of the fuel cans inside.

I figure 60 gal usable in the plane. I figure 4.5 hrs to be conservative.(although I ounce put in 61.4 gal after a dead stick into MFR--that is another story though) I carry empty 5 gal jugs in the plane when going to BAJA so I can take a taxi to town and pick up mogas. I would not have a problem with carrying them full in the baggage area.

What I want to know is how the heck can you put a 15 gal jug in your plane, take it out and pour contents into your wing tanks. That is 90 pounds plus.

Tim

Use a shaker hose and decant into smaller 5-gal jugs for fueling. They have a relatively wide base and a handle on top. They're heavy and I'm short. But they strap in good.