From: "R\351mi Guerner" <ai...
William wrote:=E2=80=9D I was going to fit a mini Andair a couple of years ago,
when they were all
the rage, but when I talked to Nev, he persuaded me not to bother because he
considered the twin filters was a better system, apart from the water
aspect=E2=80=9D.
I am surprised to read this while Europas keep force-landing or crashing due to
fuel filter contamination (read the article on the forced landing of OY-ODA
in Europa Flyer # 46)
A fuel filter should have at least:
- a screen area large enough for the fuel flow.
- a drain valve for draining the contaminants (water and solid
stuff)
before each day of flight.
The filters supplied by Europa Aircraft have none of those characteristics and
are therefore potentially dangerous. This is especially true as most of us are
using Mogas which is more likely to be contaminated, even when using a filtering
funnel at every fill up. The dual filter arrangement is a big improvement
but is not fully satisfactory. Keep in mind that the filter has the most chance
to clog and the engine to stop, when the fuel flow is maximum, i.e. during
the take off phase. I believe you would crash before having time to switch to
the other filter, should that happen to you.
When I was flying with the Rotax 914, I experienced several engine stoppages, at
cruise, due to filter contamination. Fortunately, thanks for the dual filter
arrangement, the engine resumed running when the second fuel pump was turned
on, and I managed to land safely on an airport every time. Some others have not
been as lucky.
Replacing the dual in-line filters by dual gascolators was the first
modification
I made to my aircraft.
When I installed the 912S, I removed 1 of them. 914 owners have to consider that
the fuel flow through the filter can be as much as 4 to 5 times the fuel
consumption
of the engine, due to the huge flow returned back to the tank. Therefore
the filter(s) on 914 installation must be designed as for a 500 HP engine!
My recommendation is to throw away the supplied in-line filters and use one (or
two) gascolators big enough for the task. There are plenty of sources on the
market. A gascolator will also be a lot easier to service than the in-line
filters.
If you are using the Andair GAS375, make sure you have the new filter screen
which is has a lot bigger screen area than the original model.
Remi Guerner
F-PGKL, XS S/N395 monowheel, 288 hours on a 914 + 89 hours since fitted with
the 912S.
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