Aux tanks on tactical aircraft were for extending the range to get to the
target area. They were ususally jetisoned prior to actual aerial combat.
Internal fuel was for in the target area and return flight.
Dick J
ardunbill@webtv.net wrote:I never saw it mentioned anywhere, but it occurred
to me that the
original aircraft designer would want his belly(drop) tank to be
aerodynamically-neutral, because the fighter aircraft to which these
were usually attached, are so sensitive to the slightest aero or weight
distribution influence. Whether the tank was on or off the plane, the
pilot doesn't want any sudden lurch effect on his control of it.
It follows from this that a plain belly tank would have no particular
stability of its own as a high speed car body. It seems people add
stability to this form of tank with tail stabilizers and lengthened
wheelbases.
The Kelly & Hall P-38 tank has a short wheelbase, and a vertical
stabilizer, but the stability is proven adequate.
There is a famous photo of Wally Parks about fifty years ago in a belly
tank, no vertical stabilizer, no roll cage. He had one foot in the
grave, but survived it with no trouble.
It was mentioned on this List before that the P-38 tank is available in
a fibreglass replica, stock length, and also in an extended length. It
was also mentioned that original aluminum belly tanks are a tough way to
go, because they have a complex support structure inside, plus extensive
baffling to keep the fuel from sloshing around and upsetting the trim of
the attached plane, all of which takes a lot of labor to remove before
the tank can be used for a racecar body. Not to mention dividing the
thing into top and bottom halves. Bill
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