New Refuelling System At Nandi Airport

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28999, 14 September 1959, Page 8

New Refuelling System At Nandi Airport

To meet the demands of jet airliners in the South Pacific, a completely new refuelling system is being brought into operation by the major oil companies at Nandi, Fiji, some 1300 miles from Auckland.

On regular passenger schedules, giant Boeing 707’s operated by Qantas are now making full use of the two-mile concrete landing strip recently completed as part of the New Zealand Ministry of Works Nandi Airport reconstruction project. Special kerosene-type fuel, in loads of from 10,000 to 12,000 gallons at a time—more than two and a half times the amount usually needed by piston-engined aircraft—is needed for refuelling the big jet aircraft. The new refuelling system is designed to deliver up to 1000 gallons a minute. There will be six delivery points, built in, with their covers flush with the pavement of the aircraft parking areas. Smart, streamlined motor vehicles known as “hose carts” will provide the link between aircraft and supply point, and will meter the fuel as it is pumped in.

Jointly Owned The new refuelling organisation is jointly owned. There will be no brand names for refined products. Neutral colours are being used for painting the new depot as well as for all equipment used by the oil companies on the airport

The depot is about 650 feet from the nearest apron area. There are six small but substantial concrete block buildings, including lubricants store, workshops, office and native staff amenities block.

Seven bulk storage tanks have been built, above ground, two for each grade of fuel, and one 12,000gallon tank for fuel returned in the event of an airline operational emergency.

Fuel supplies will be landed in Fiji at the Vunda Point ocean terminal, about 10 miles from the airport, and brought to Nandi by road tanker. The largest of the bulk tanks there holds 1,250,000 gallons and is fitted with a gasometer type roof so that vapour created by the tropical heat of the day can be held and saved through condensation at? night.

The Boeing 707’s need water, too—from 450 gallons to 500 gallons of it for injection into the engines to boost power on takeoff. An exceptionally high standard of purity is essential for this purpose, so the oil companies have installed a special water demineralising plant in their new depot. This water contains no more than three parts in a million of dissolved solids, as compared with the from 40 to 100 parts a million normal in what appears to be crystal-clear drinking water straight from the average New Zealand household tap. The new storage depot and delivery system are as near foolproof as human ingenuity can make them. Use of duplicate storage tanks, for example, means that while one tank is being used another can be filled, and then allowed to “still” for at least 24 hours so that the tiniest proportion of impurities can sink to the bottom. Draw off is from the surface of the tank’s contents, and the tank floor is on a slope. These factors, plus the use of coalescor dehydrators, guard against condensation water from the atmosphere being pumped to aircraft with fuel deliveries.