Continuous fuel tank level control

An internal fuel distribution system for an aircraft, comprising:

• a center main fuel tank disposed at a fuselage of an aircraft;
• a tail fin fuel tank disposed at a vertical tail fin of the aircraft;
• a tail fin fuel pump to pump fuel between the tail fin fuel tank and the center main fuel tank along a longitudinal axis of the aircraft;
• a controller operably connected to the tail fin fuel pump to control operation of the tail fin fuel pump such that fuel is flowed between the tail fin fuel tank and the center main fuel tank at a predetermined transfer rate to maintain a selected position of a longitudinal center of gravity of the aircraft, based on a predicted rate of change of the longitudinal center of gravity of the aircraft during flight operations of the aircraft;
• two or more tail plane fuel tanks disposed at one of more horizontal tail planes of the aircraft in selective fluid communication with the tail fin fuel tank for fuel transfer between the two or more tail plane fuel tanks and the tail fin fuel tank, wherein the two or more tail plane fuel tanks and the tail fin fuel tank are configured for transfer of fuel from the two or more tail plane fuel tanks to the tail fin fuel tank prior to transfer of the fuel from the tail fin fuel tank to the center main fuel tank;
• and
• a fuel shutoff valve disposed between the tail fin fuel tank and the two or more tail plane fuel tanks to control the flow of fuel from the two or more tail plane fuel tanks to the tail fin fuel tank.

An aircraft comprising:

• a fuselage extending along a longitudinal axis of the aircraft;
• two wings extending laterally from the fuselage;
• a tail fin extending substantially vertically from a tail portion of the fuselage;
• one or more engines operably connected to the aircraft to provide thrust for the aircraft;
• and
• a fuel distribution system to provide fuel to the one or more engines including:
• a center main fuel tank disposed at the fuselage;
• a tail fin fuel tank disposed at the tail fin;
• a tail fin fuel pump to pump fuel between the tail fin fuel tank and the center main fuel tank along the longitudinal axis of the aircraft;
• a controller operably connected to the tail fin fuel pump to control operation of the tail fin fuel pump such that fuel is flowed between the tail fin fuel tank and the center main fuel tank at a predetermined transfer rate to maintain a selected position of a longitudinal center of gravity of the aircraft, based on a predicted rate of change of the longitudinal center of gravity of the aircraft during flight operations of the aircraft;
• two or more tail plane fuel tanks disposed at one of more horizontal tail planes of the aircraft in selective fluid communication with the tail fin fuel tank for fuel transfer between the two or more tail plane fuel tanks and the tail fin fuel tank, wherein the two or more tail plane fuel tanks and the tail fin fuel tank are configured for transfer of fuel from the two or more tail plane fuel tanks to the tail fin fuel tank prior to transfer of the fuel from the tail fin fuel tank to the center main fuel tank;
• and
• a fuel shutoff valve disposed between the tail fin fuel tank and the two or more tail plane fuel tanks to control the flow of fuel from the two or more tail plane fuel tanks to the tail fin fuel tank.