Not everyone knows how to refuel aircraft. For the uninterrupted and good operation of such units, special fuel of the highest quality is required. The level of flight largely depends on what was flooded into the plane. It should be noted that the cost of aviation fuel has increased many times over due to oil shortages. At the moment, new compositions are being developed. So what do planes run with? What fuel is used for this?
Varieties of fuel for aircraft
So, what are the airplanes fueling? At the moment, there are only a few varieties of fuel for such equipment:
- fuel intended for piston engines;
- jet fuel designed for turbojet models.
Each type is designed for certain types of aircraft. Changing fuel to another type is very dangerous. After all, the safety of everyone who will be on board the aircraft depends on fuel. It is for this reason that particular attention is paid to refueling units. What is the difference between jet fuel and aviation gasoline?
Aviation fuel
Now you know what the planes are in charge of. Types of fuel for such equipment have certain qualities and properties. What are the differences. Jet fuel, or, in other words, aviation gasoline, has recently ceased to be used as fuel. Now it is used as a solvent. Not so long ago, TU-22 and TU-16 flew on such fuel.
Jet fuel was obtained in several ways of oil refining : distillation or catalytic cracking.
Features of aviation fuel
Aviation gasoline was previously considered high-quality fuel. Why? There are several reasons for this:
- Knock resistance. In other words, such fuel can be used in engines equipped with a high level of compression of the combustible mixture. In this case, the appearance of detonation combustion is excluded.
- Fractional composition. Aviation gasoline can evaporate. This indicates its ability to form air-fuel, working mixtures. This trait is determined by the saturated vapor pressure and the boiling point.
- Chemical stability. Aviation fuel can withstand the chemical effects of certain components during use, transportation, and so on.
As you can see, aviation gasoline has many advantages. However, it has not been used as fuel for a long time. So what do planes refuel if aviation gasoline is not used for these purposes?
Aviation kerosene
What fuel is fueled by planes that carry passengers and the military? In such situations, jet kerosene is used - this is one of the fractions of oil obtained by direct distillation of sulfur and low-sulfur varieties of oil. In this case, the hydrotreating method is widely used. Very often additional additives are added to such fuel.
It is worth noting that aviation kerosene, before getting into the tank of the aircraft, goes through 8 stages of verification. In addition, in our country, the military controls fuel quality. The cost of one ton of such fuel is 20-35 thousand rubles.
Varieties of jet fuel
Aviation kerosene has many features. This is acidity, and sulfur, and thermal stability. At the moment, several varieties of it are used in our country:
- RT is a very high quality fuel. This is due to the oil fraction. Here it is 135-280 ° C and undergoes full hydrotreatment. It is worth noting that such fuel has no analogues even among Western types of fuel. RT is usually used for refueling SU-27 and so on.
- TS-1 - this fuel for aircraft is a mixture of directly refined and straight-run fractions. Such fuel corresponds to Jet-A - the foreign counterpart. In our country, this is the most popular type of aviation kerosene. They are run by modern and old aircraft equipped with subsonic, turbojet and turboprop engines.
- T-6 and T-8V - fuel that is produced exclusively for the needs of the military. They are refueled by supersonic MiG-35 fighters. Such fuel is obtained as a result of long-term oil refining, which makes their cost very high.
In winter, additional additives are added to the fuel, which do not allow the fuel to change its physical properties during use.
How many tanks does the plane have
Before answering the question of how and how much fuel is refueled in an airplane, it is worth finding out how many tanks the unit has. For different models of technology, they are located almost in the same places: at the wings and in the center. At the same time, fuel is consumed for certain needs from each tank. The fuel from the central tank is designed for stable engine operation. Some aircraft have an extra tail tail. Such a tank is necessary to adjust the alignment of the unit during the flight.
Refueling process
The process of refueling an aircraft is a complex procedure that is carried out at the airport by a group of people. For these purposes, special equipment is used. In this case, the procedure is controlled by the operator of the gas station. It is worth noting that the fuel is thoroughly tested. How many aircraft refuel? It all depends on the variety of equipment. Approximately 15 tons of fuel are required to refuel a Boeing, and 15-25 tons for an Airbus.