Quote:
Originally Posted by greggo
The minimum altitude to dump fuel varies from country-to-country. Off the top of my head, I remember Germany is 3,000' AGL and Japan is 6,000' AGL.
I searched and found this little snippet, below, for information:
Once released, the fuel trails behind the aircraft and creates a pattern that looks much like a contrail. Kerosene evaporates rapidly in the atmosphere and very little typically survives in liquid form to reach the Earth's surface. The exact evaporative characteristics of dumped fuel depends on a number of factors like the altitude at which it was released, the atmospheric temperature, and the dumping pressure. Kerosene dumped at high altitude on a warm day tends to evaporate fastest. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sets requirements for when and how fuel dumping may occur in Order 7110.65P, Chapter 9, Section 5. This instruction stipulates that fuel can only be dumped above a minimum altitude of 2,000 ft (610 m), to improve its evaporation, and that a dumping aircraft must be separated from other air traffic by at least 5 miles (8 km). Air traffic controllers are also instructed to direct planes dumping fuel away from populated areas and over large bodies of water as much as possible. The same guidelines apply to military aircraft, and most air bases only permit fuel dumping in a specified area.
I'll start dumping as soon as we reach V1 if looks like I'll never be coming home again. We are instructed to begin the dump IMMEDIATELY after losing
two, (of our three), engines. Given the choice, 6000 feet and above and away from people on the ground is my preference.
Cheers,
fbh
Yesterday
