Fuel

Question 1

What is the total fuel capacity of the A320?

Answer 1

Approximately 42,000 lbs (41,285 lbs)

Question 2

Why might the ECAM FOB show more than 42,000 lbs?

Answer 2

Fuel expands up to 2% without venting

Question 3

How many fuel pumps are on the aircraft and where are they?

Answer 3

7 total: 2 center tank pumps, 4 wing tank pumps (2 per wing), and 1 APU fuel pump

Question 4

What does the APU pump do?

Answer 4

Provides fuel if main feed pressure is low (e.g. AC loss or pump failure)

Question 5

Describe fuel flow from engine start to climb with full tanks.

Answer 5

Start: fuel from wing tanks; center tank pumps activate after engine start and run for 2 min; stop if slats are extended; restart once slats retracted; center pumps shut off 5 min after center tank empty

Question 6

What’s the difference between CTR TK PUMP and CTR TK XFR?

Answer 6

Older aircraft (601–628): electric pumps; newer A320s and A321s: jet pumps (XFR) that move fuel into wing tanks

Question 7

What does a fault light on L(R) TK PUMP mean?

Answer 7

Low delivery pressure

Question 8

What does a fault light in the MODE selector indicate?

Answer 8

Failure of AUTO mode or center tank >550 lbs while a wing tank <11,000 lbs

Question 9

How can you tell fueling is in progress?

Answer 9

FOB increasing; ECAM “REFUELG” only means door is open

Question 10

How does IDG cooling relate to the fuel system?

Answer 10

Fuel from HP line cools the IDG via heat exchanger and is returned to tanks

Question 11

What happens if IDG cooling return fuel fills wing tanks while feeding from center?

Answer 11

Center tank pumps shut off until 1,100 lbs are burned from wing inner tanks

Question 12

What is the approximate capacity of each outer wing tank (when installed)?

Answer 12

About 1,500 lbs

Question 13

When do outer wing tanks drain into inner tanks?

Answer 13

When inner tank reaches ~1,650 lbs

Question 14

If one inner tank reaches 1,650 lbs, what happens to the other transfer valve?

Answer 14

All four transfer valves open

Question 15

How are the transfer valves closed?

Answer 15

Automatically at next refuel (with AC power on)

Question 16

What are considerations for APU starts or shutdowns during refueling/defueling?

Answer 16

If APU fails or shuts down, do not restart it; in fuel spill, perform normal APU shutdown

Question 17

What is the minimum fuel for takeoff?

Answer 17

3,307 lbs

Question 18

Can you take off with ECAM fuel level alerts?

Answer 18

No — takeoff is not permitted if ECAM shows FUEL WING TK LO LVL

Question 19

Describe the fuel tank layout.

Answer 19

A320: center tank + inner/outer/vented wing tanks; A321: no inner/outer division in wings, but vented tanks still exist