Today we’re featuring an excerpt from The Pilot’s Manual: Ground School (PM-2).
Many sophisticated engines have fuel directly metered into the induction manifold and then into the cylinders without using a carburetor. This is known as fuel injection.
A venturi system is still used to create the pressure differential. This is coupled to a fuel control unit (FCU), from which metered fuel is piped to the fuel manifold unit (fuel distributor). From here, a separate fuel line carries fuel to the discharge nozzle in each cylinder head, or into the inlet port prior to the inlet valve. The mixture control in the fuel injection system controls the idle cut-off.
With fuel injection, each individual cylinder is provided with a correct mixture by its own separate fuel line. (This is unlike the carburetor system, which supplies the same fuel/air mixture to all cylinders. This requires a slightly richer-than-ideal mixture to ensure that the leanest-running cylinder does not run too lean.)
The advantages of fuel injection include:
- freedom from fuel ice (no suitable place for it to form);
- more uniform delivery of the fuel/air mixture to each cylinder;
- improved control of fuel/air ratio;
- fewer maintenance problems;
- instant acceleration of the engine after idling with no tendency for it to stall; and
- increased engine efficiency.
Starting an already hot engine that has a fuel injection system may be difficult because of vapor locking in the fuel lines. Electric boost pumps that pressurize the fuel lines can help alleviate this problem. Having very fine fuel lines, fuel injection engines are more susceptible to any contamination in the fuel such as dirt or water. Correct fuel management is imperative! Know the fuel system of your particular airplane. Surplus fuel provided by a fuel injection system will pass through a return line which may be routed to only one of the fuel tanks. If the pilot does not remain aware of where the surplus fuel is being returned to, it may result in uneven fuel loading in the tanks or fuel being vented overboard (thus reducing flight fuel available).
