Large aux tank for cruisemaster

D

dleigh

New member
:?: I have been having a lot fun with my 57 Cruisemaster and feel really confident with it right now for serious cross country flying. The problem is endurance. As currently configured with 14 gal aux tank I can fly for 4 hours before the engine goes quiet. Four hours is longer than my kidneys endurance, but the fuel gages are a bit suspicious so I use the clock as my primary fuel gage.

I would feel much more confident, however, if I had the large aux tank instead of the 14 gallon one. The factory does not have any large aux tanks for sale. Does anyone out there know of a large tank for sale or a source of an after market one????

Also does the large aux tank have a detrimental effect on the flight characteristic or CG change in flight???

Merry Christmas to everyone
 
Regardless of how much fuel you're tanking, a fuel gauge should NEVER be used for anything. Fuel gauges are like sociopaths: one minute they're so charming and nice and, the next, they've got a foot on your throat while they're trying to dig out your eyeballs with a spoon. At best they're good for "Yup....there's some fuel in this tank...dunno how much though." At worst they make amusing reading in those NTSB reports that demonstrate natural selection is hard at work.

I've known of two Cruisemasters that had the 25 gallon aux tank. In one, the owner removed it forthwith and stuck a 14 in there. He liked to use his 14-19 for backcountry flying. Problem is the 25 gallon tank devours the luggage compartment. He sold the fat tank to what became the second 14-19 I've known that deserved an Exxon sign on its fuselage. That guy LOVED his Tanker Master, I tell ya. Some folks just hate to land I guess.

Seriously, I wish I knew of a source for those but they were never popular. Heck, lots of Cruiseairs don't have aux tanks at all. Given that both types of tail wheel Cruisemasters consume around 12 gal/hr, it would take the addition of a monster gas sucking engine - later proclaimed The Viking - before folks generally concluded "Hey we could use more gas over here!"

Please don't think I'm making fun of your desire for the bigger aux tank option. It would have plenty of uses....such as flying over South of Hell, Arizona in late July with air below boiling, dust devils playing at every airport approach end, and a legitimate fear that you'll perish from heat stroke, dehydration, or both before you can walk (or crawl) into the FBO. If that happens just tell yourself your're lucky.....you could have ended up in Blythe, California.

Jonathan
 
Jonathan,
As always I appreciate your comments. In fact after much discussion with others older airplane owners, the consensus is that 4 hours is plenty of time and a 2 to 2 1/2 hour IFR flight is enough for, shall we say, a mature aviator like me.

I am able to cover 170 to 175 miles in one hour on 12.5 gal and that is a respectible distance. I set the fuel clock to 12 noon on take off and burn the first half hour on the right tank, switch to the aux tank for 1 hour, then at 1:30 switch to the left tank then at 2:00 switch to the right tank. At 2:30 the left tank is accessed and by that time I am looking for the initial approach fix or down wind.

Typically, I find that refilling the aux tank takes from 12.2 to 12.7 gallon at top off so I am confident of the fuel burn of 12.5. One problem is the wing tanks. Its a bit hard to get the tank topped just right. I know when I have too much when I can see fuel flowing over the wing during initial part of flight. First time it happened, I got chills and headed back to home base

Any way I've decided to forget the 25 gallon aux tank and just plan short hops.

David
 
Hey David,

Was your Cruisemaster recovered in Newberry SC a few years ago? I remember seeing one in ole' whazzizname's hangar down there recovered and thru silver...just wondering.

If so, it sounds like it turned out to your liking.

If not, I wonder what happened to it...

Dave




.
 
Jonathan,
I've owned 91B since 2004. I do not have my log books with me but I will check where the recover was done. Seems like it was recovered in 1988. It still looks great but there are a few places that need some attention. It spent much of its time in the South, most recently in Alabama, where I first saw it back in 2001. I was trying to buy it then but things didn't work out ( lack of money ).

It went to Wisconsin and then to Illinois at which point I finally was able to purchase the airplane. It is wonderful and all that I ever expected it to be. I hope to take it to Sun and Fun this year if I can get vacation worked out. My number 2 son lives in Austin and I hope to fly over there sometime this Spring or Summer. If possible I would love to get together for a show and tell swap.

Regards
David
 
A few years back we purchased drawings from the factory as they were out of stock on the 20 gallon tanks.We have located one from a Viking & are installing it.
 
Earl65,
I would be interested in the outcome that is any difficulties and what you think about the loss of payload, storage room vs extra fuel. :?:


earl65 said:
A few years back we purchased drawings from the factory as they were out of stock on the 20 gallon tanks.We have located one from a Viking & are installing it.
Click to expand...
 
Hello,
Email me at earlar@yahoo.com & I will send you photos.The new tank does not interfer with the baggage compartment.
 
When I bought my crate the fuel gages were junk! I put a Westach universal gage system in each tank and new gage and sender switch. I did this with the help of a machinist to make new plates for the tanks. These were 240 ohm systems like the original SW senders. My system is right on the money and now a quarter tank is a quarter tank no more clock timing. With the OPEC 470 installed in the crate it was well worth all the trouble installing this. You still have to have a heads up on fuel management but looking at a reliable gage take the workload down to a better level. Lynn N9818B 8)
 
I dunnoooooooooo Lynn, I'd have to rewire my brain as well to shut down the muuust...teyemmm.....tahanks subroutine programmed into my wee skull. Going by fuel gauges on an airplane is like trusting that tatooed gal you picked up at the roadhouse at two in the morning when you both sh*tfaced. Speaking hypothetically of course. Perhaps I exaggerate a bit. :oops:

As for tanks, the Cruisemaster had the 14 aux standard, or a 25 gallon aux as an option. It would indeed be interesting to see what luck you have from the Federales. I've known 'em to reject folks who never had a aux tank and try to install the tried and true 14 gallon tank, much less the 25 gal. David Blaine bladder endurance version. As a 20 gallon tank was not offered on the 14 series your quest, Earl, could set an interesting precident.

Jonathan
 
I vaguely recall that Andy Vano??? mentioned a Viking aux fuel tank will fit into a Cruisemaster just fine. It is just like a 14 gallon tank except it curls under the bench seat to utilize that volume. I think it is suppose to be a simple installation that only requires removal of the baggage compartment and rear seat for access. I'm not certain about paperwork. Anyone know about this?


Glenn - N7695B
 
Well, I got my hands on some drawings, incidental to having my annual done recently. I was wrong about the baggage space lost; this is what a previous owner told me, but the only difference I could see in the drawings was that the larger aux tank did not come to an inverted V on top. Thus I doubt it intruded very much on the baggage compartment.

As I was chatting with folks at the recent Bellanca fly-in at Columbia, I confessed my preferred tool for long flights: Mister Piss Bottle. No....there is nothing in GA with that...uh...trademark. Just make sure it's opaque. Oh, and avoid exiting your aircraft and emptying it on the ramp with a flourish while the line guys are chocking your airplane. It's easy to imagine the hand signal one could employ to convey "Don't dump your piss bottle here!" It's not in the AIM....yet.

Of course, as aviators we're smart enough to resist getting rid of such an item in-flight. Even when flying over pastoral terrain you run the risk of killing a cow with a piss bomb. Truckers are not always so civilized. Yes, and I'm NOT MAKING THIS UP, discared bottles of liquid excrement have become a legal matter in the State of Washington. And, yes, they got truck drivers to argue against the proposed law ON CAMERA.

When my Texas mechanic, Joe, was annualing my Bellanca it occurred to me that, among the items in the airplane, was indeed a bottle of piss. It discretely vanished. There are some things gentlemen do not discuss.

Just FYI for those of you who wish you had more range.

Jonathan
 
ROTFLMAO!

A doctor friend bought a new Malibu several years ago. Quite the transition from a low/slow Cherokee Six.

He was able to fly nonstop from CLT to ICT to visit when I lived out there, much to the chagrin of his wife. Even tho Daktari had an iron bladder, his spouse did not. Before they returned home, she discreetly asked my wife for a "wide mouth Mason jar & lid, because he just won't stop 'til we're there, ever since he bought this airplane!" :shock:

I learned later that her return trip was much more comfortable.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top