# How does a fighter Jet get gas out of it's gas tank **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 3, 2004, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-fighter-jet-get-gas-out-of-its-gas-tank/232366 "2004-03-03T19:11:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![fluffball86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@fluffball86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluffball86)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2004, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-fighter-jet-get-gas-out-of-its-gas-tank/232366/21 "2004-03-04T14:44:54Z")
> [@Fear the Turtle](#): > > Not sure how many holes/lines go thru the tank (these would correspond with the outlets of the pumps), but there are multiple “pickup points” (inlets), corresponding to the 3 pumps (each pump could have multiple pickup points for all I know). The forward tank is kept full, so no N2. Pressurized N2 helps the rear tanks transfer fuel to the forward tanks (and to the multiple rear tanks) > > I’m not sure where exactly the pumps were located. By center I meant located vertically between top and bottom. How they are laid out horizontally, I’m not sure. Also - the pumps do not “suck fuel thru”; they are located in the tanks and only the outlet lines run through the tank wall. So technically they “push fuel out”. > > I’ll be out of town for a couple days, so may not be able to pick this up again for a while. Thank you, you answered all of my questions. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Us\_air\_force\_pilot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Us\_air\_force\_pilot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Us_air_force_pilot)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-fighter-jet-get-gas-out-of-its-gas-tank/232366/22 "2013-10-02T23:56:36Z")
(copyrighted material removed - article may be found here: [When an aerobatic plane flies upside down, how does the fuel get to the engine? | HowStuffWorks](http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/question252.htm)) ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-fighter-jet-get-gas-out-of-its-gas-tank/232366/23 "2013-10-03T02:54:51Z")
A more important issue for aerobatic flight is having a constant oil supply. If you lose your fuel supply for a bit you will lose power to the engine but get it back once the fuel supplies is regained, but if you lose the oil supply the engine keeps running but gets damaged. Every time you lose oil pressure you damage the engine. So aerobatic engines have a system for supplying oil continuously as well as the fuel. The Pitts Special I used to fly had a wet sump (oil is taken directly from the bottom of the engine rather than a separate oil tank) and the oil could be drawn from either the top or bottom of the tank. A couple of ball weights where the upper and lower oil lines joined ensured that oil was supplied from the correct part of the engine. Edit: If you are careful to maintain positive g forces throughout your manoeuvres you don’t need a special fuel or oil system. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-fighter-jet-get-gas-out-of-its-gas-tank/232366/24 "2013-10-03T03:44:56Z")
> [@Us\_air\_force\_pilot](#): > > (copyrighted material removed - article may be found here: [When an aerobatic plane flies upside down, how does the fuel get to the engine? | HowStuffWorks](http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/question252.htm)) Reported for missing quote indicator. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-fighter-jet-get-gas-out-of-its-gas-tank/232366/25 "2013-10-03T08:08:22Z")
**Moderator Action** Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Board, Us\_air\_force\_pilot. While your post is relevant, it was a copy of an entire article from the HowStuffWorks web site. You can copy and paste sections of articles here, but copying the entire article is beyond the scope of “fair use” and is not permitted. From the SDMB registration agreement: > [@](#): > > You agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or by the operator of the SDMB, except as permitted by the “fair use” provisions of the U.S. copyright laws (in general this means brief excerpts only). You agree to abide by the wishes of the board moderators in interpreting and enforcing these rules. Refusal to cooperate with board moderators or to abide by these rules is grounds for revocation of your posting privileges. The rest of the registration agreement may be found here: > **[SDMB registration agreement as of 12/21/2014](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=650726)** > > The agreement below spells out the rules by which SDMB users are expected to abide. The purpose of the present revision is to add the language in bold: “If we tell you to refrain from behavior that we regard as uncivil, \*\*or that in our view... I have removed the copied article from your post and added a link to the original article in its place. Also, please note that the thread you are replying to dates back to 2004. We tend to refer to old posts that get revived like this as zombies, so don’t be surprised if you see a lot of zombie jokes. We do permit zombies here, but we ask that you only revive old threads if you have new or relevant information to add. Also, note that due to the thread’s age, many of its original participants may no longer be around to view or respond to your comments. Since the HowStuffWorks article was linked earlier in the thread, I don’t see where anything new has really been added here. I am going to put this poor zombie back into his grave. Thread closed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-fighter-jet-get-gas-out-of-its-gas-tank/232366.md?page=1)