Introductory technical guidance for mechanical, civil and electrical engineers interested in aircraft fueling facilities. Here is what is discussed: 1. INTRODUCTION 2. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS 3. RECEIVING FACILITIES 4. DISPENSING FACILITIES 5. PIPING SYSTEMS 6. EQUIPMENT DESCRIPTIONS 7. CONTROLS 8. CANOPIES 9. FUEL ADDITIVES 10. DEFUELING AND RETURN-TO-BULK (RTB) SYSTEMS 11. PRODUCT RECOVERY SYSTEMS.

The book presents history, methods, airplanes and operators in the area of Aerial Refueling, it shows an historical analysis from the first attempts in the aeronautical circuses, up to the affirmation as a military necessity after World War II and the subsequent expansion in many air forces Contents: - Development from the first attempts of 1929 to the first flight around the world without a stop - Detailed presentation of the various methods attempted in history, with drawings and photographs, - Description of types of aircraft in service performing in-flight refueling - Presentation of Air Forces, Units, their history, the strategic reasons that have developed the need for a fleet of tankers for the current 34 air forces, the future ones, as well as commercial operators - Presentation of of some unusual aircraft refueling attempts and vision on in-flight refueling systems in the - Fully illustrated with over 700 color images and drawings - 200 pages

The United States Air Force currently relies principally on boom-and- receptacle technology to conduct aerial-refueling operations for fixed-wing aircraft. With this approach, a single aircraft at a time may be refueled behind a tanker. An alternative concept, called multipoint aerial refueling, uses probe-and-drogue technology to enable more than one fighter aircraft to aerially refuel simultaneously from a tanker. Advocates of a transition to multipoint aerial refueling describe multipoint's benefits as follows: greater flexibility and interoperability of U.S. forces, and the possibility of budgetary savings resulting from the smaller tanker inventory that could be required. Several studies in recent years have addressed the efficacy of multipoint aerial refueling for fighter-employment operations. Not surprisingly, since each study used different analytic approaches and assumptions, the results of the studies have varied. I reviewed five of these studies to understand the reasons for the differences among them and to determine whether any general conclusions could be drawn about the desirability of equipping U.S. tanker aircraft with the multipoint aerial-refueling capability.

This is a unique account of the development and operational use of air-to-air flight refuelling since its early beginnings in the USA and the UK to the equipment that is in use today. The author draws upon his life-long career as senior design engineer with the successful British company In-Flight Refuelling who were responsible for the development of the hose and drogue technique now preferred by many of the world's air forces. The story begins in the early 1920s when the art of air refuelling was part of the Barn Storming record-breaking attempts that were popular in the USA. It continues into the late thirties when successful experiments were made. Amazingly, the Royal Air Force were not interested in pursuing this great technical advantage during World War II and it was the USAAF who requested the British invention to experiment with on their B-17s and B-24s. The Korean War saw extended use of operational air-to-air refuelling for the first time and now the 'tanker fleet' is an essential unit in major air-forces around the world.

All aspects of fuel products and systems including fuel handling, quantity gauging and management functions for both commercial (civil) and military applications. The fuel systems on board modern aircraft are multi-functional, fully integrated complex networks. They are designed to provide a proper and reliable management of fuel resources throughout all phases of operation, notwithstanding changes in altitude or speed, as well as to monitor system functionality and advise the flight crew of any operational anomalies that may develop. Collates together a wealth of information on fuel system design that is currently disseminated throughout the literature. Authored by leading industry experts from Airbus and Parker Aerospace. Includes chapters on basic system functions, features and functions unique to military aircraft, fuel handling, fuel quantity gauging and management, fuel systems safety and fuel systems design and development. Accompanied by a companion website housing a MATLAB/SIMULINK model of a modern aircraft fuel system that allows the user to set up flight conditions, investigate the effects of equipment failures and virtually fly preset missions. Aircraft Fuel Systems provides a timely and invaluable resource for engineers, project and programme managers in the equipment supply and application communities, as well as for graduate and postgraduate students of mechanical and aerospace engineering. It constitutes an invaluable addition to the established Wiley Aerospace Series.