fuel shut off valve

[paddydix]

Hey gang !,
I know it has been addressed before in the forums, but I have a steady drip from my fuel shut off valve (main tank), and as time goes on things can change. So is anyone making replacements that are legal now ?

[M Towsley]

Re: fuel shut off valve

Yes there is. I would hope Tim would chime-in on this. He is Astjp2 on here. Lots of info on this in the archives. I have one and it is fantastic.

[astjp2]

Re: fuel shut off valve

There are no Pma'd replacements but there are a lot of airplanes that don't have leaky valves now. Don't forget that there was no faa or pma in the 1940's Tim

[lawheelock]

Re: fuel shut off valve

The original fuel valves were made by Imperial Brass. The lawyers got to the company after the John Denver crash and Imperial totally stopped making fuel valves for aircraft and trashed and buried the stock that they had in inventory. Again, the legal system protects us all so now you can have a fire hazard due to non replacement parts available from the original manufacturer.
We ain't seen nothing yet like we will after the self-serving crooked lawyer gets back in the white house in January.
Larry Wheelock, Taylorcraft BC12D being repaired.

[paddydix]

Re: fuel shut off valve

Tim.Sent you a PM , we need to get one on my Taylorcraft. ASAP! I have had the never ending annual going this year

[jstall]

Re: fuel shut off valve

The original fuel valves were made by Imperial Brass. The lawyers got to the company after the John Denver crash and Imperial totally stopped making fuel valves for aircraft and trashed and buried the stock that they had in inventory. Again, the legal system protects us all so now you can have a fire hazard due to non replacement parts available from the original manufacturer.
We ain't seen nothing yet like we will after the self-serving crooked lawyer gets back in the white house in January.
Larry Wheelock, Taylorcraft BC12D being repaired.

AMEN to that my friend in fact if this election goes like I'm thinking it will we as a nation
are in big big big trouble, be way worse than the past Potus

[wmfife]

Re: fuel shut off valve

Did anyone actually read the full NTSB report on the infamous J. Denver crash? I did and it was abundantly clear (to me at least) that the accident had absolutely nothing to do with the valve design.

According to AirSafe.com the Board indicated it was "...the builder's decision to locate the unmarked fuel selector handle in a hard-to-access position" BEHIND the pilot's seat creating serious problems when it needed to be reached in an emergency. http://www.airsafe.com/events/celebs/denver

Also according to this report this was not approved by the designer nor (to my knowledge) were they or the Imperial people even informed of the change. It was just a bad builder decision and an unauthorized mod to an experimental aircraft resulting in loss of control upon pilot's trying to reach the selector in a cramped cockpit once fuel starvation became all too apparent.

A full load of fuel would have averted the mishap.

Can't help wondering where some lawyers get their degrees.

[astjp2]

Re: fuel shut off valve

Actually an amateur built airplane can be built anyway they want...and the Lawyer still got paid!

Did anyone actually read the full NTSB report on the infamous J. Denver crash? I did and it was abundantly clear (to me at least) that the accident had absolutely nothing to do with the valve design.

According to AirSafe.com the Board indicated it was "...the builder's decision to locate the unmarked fuel selector handle in a hard-to-access position" BEHIND the pilot's seat creating serious problems when it needed to be reached in an emergency. http://www.airsafe.com/events/celebs/denver

Also according to this report this was not approved by the designer nor (to my knowledge) were they or the Imperial people even informed of the change. It was just a bad builder decision and an unauthorized mod to an experimental aircraft resulting in loss of control upon pilot's trying to reach the selector in a cramped cockpit once fuel starvation became all too apparent.

A full load of fuel would have averted the mishap.

Can't help wondering where some lawyers get their degrees.

[wmfife]

Re: fuel shut off valve

Actually an amateur built airplane can be built anyway they want...and the Lawyer still got paid!

Come to think of it that's how my T-Craft checkout instructor got killed. He didn't like homebuilts and next thing I knew he was ferrying a one-of-a-kind locally and something snapped.

Still need to get a handle on how the valve manufacturer was held culpable. This was clearly the builder's fault. Even I can see that and I never went to law school.

(Back story: my last annual they disassembled main valve then the guy doing it quit and they returned the plane to my hangar unfinished waiting on engine parts. Now under new management so have to figure out how much lapping is too much, exactly where the lube goes, if Teflon packing really is ok etc. all so as not to damage a 76-yr-old original fuel valve.)

Yeah. I know.

[astjp2]

Re: fuel shut off valve

Well if you want a drippy valve, stick with the old one.

Imperial was just fodder for the legal system, everyone involved gets sued, probably even the guy who drove the truck that last put gas in it.

[astjp2]

Re: fuel shut off valve

Hey Pat, how is your valve doing? Never heard back on what your IA did with all that data...

[Bernard]

Re: fuel shut off valve

Come to think of it that's how my T-Craft checkout instructor got killed. He didn't like homebuilts and next thing I knew he was ferrying a one-of-a-kind locally and something snapped.

Still need to get a handle on how the valve manufacturer was held culpable. This was clearly the builder's fault. Even I can see that and I never went to law school.

(Back story: my last annual they disassembled main valve then the guy doing it quit and they returned the plane to my hangar unfinished waiting on engine parts. Now under new management so have to figure out how much lapping is too much, exactly where the lube goes, if Teflon packing really is ok etc. all so as not to damage a 76-yr-old original fuel valve.)

Yeah. I know.

NTSB reports are not admessable in court, the lawyers can say
anything.

[wmfife]

Re: fuel shut off valve

NTSB reports are not admessable in court, the lawyers can say
anything.

OK. So why can't the corporation just counter-sue?

("My lawyer can beat up your lawyer") According to the SCOTUS corporations can (almost) control elections. So why not beat a suit that's 100% unfounded in fact?

That seems easier than just shutting down an entire line. I mean -

[M Towsley]

Re: fuel shut off valve

Bill,

A lot of times it just comes down to money, usually not enough of it. TEAM Aircraft, (Airbike, Mini-Max, etc.,), was sued because a pilot over-stressed his aircraft and crashed, becoming injured. He sued TEAM because he thought "Hey, there's an aircraft company they must have big bucks". Unfortunately that was not the case and TEAM's owner gave up the rights to the Airbike to the 'victim'. The litigation pretty much caused the TEAM owner to go broke and the 'victim' to have the rights to an airplane that in reality will not be officially produced again.

Being a death involved, (Denver's), probably cost the whole situation a lot of money and Imperial went kaput. I did not read the situation with Imperial, however, I have seen many companies sued over alleged negligence and that is where the lawyers think the money is at. They don't care what happens to the companies afterwards.

[wmfife]

Re: fuel shut off valve

Being a death involved, (Denver's), probably cost the whole situation a lot of money and Imperial went kaput. I did not read the situation with Imperial, however, I have seen many companies sued over alleged negligence and that is where the lawyers think the money is at. They don't care what happens to the companies afterwards.

Just did a little digging and learned they're still in business under new management. But the change happened a year before the Denver accident, which occurred in Oct. 1997.
(From their page: )

Stride Tool acquired the tool and accessory division of Imperial Eastman (formerly Imperial Brass*) located in Niles, Illinois in 1996. (*Founded in Chicago in 1905)

Stride is located in Glenwillow, OH and is still manufacturing a variety of specialized hardware and industrial tools and fittings (...evidently just about everything but fuel valves) and still under the Imperial name:

http://imperial-tools.com/about-us

http://imperial-tools.com/sites/default/files/2016_Imperial_Web_Catalog.pdf

Bottom line: I get that the family had a nice stack of cash. I just don't see them specifically going after the fuel selector manufacturer for a total cleanout.

Perhaps their lawyers were just that skilled at "baffling them with bullsh**"?
(Lies + $$= truth.)