Long Range Fuel Tanks

[basloane]

I am planning to do a North Atlantic Crossing sometime this year. The route will be through Frobisher Bay, Sondrestrom, Reykjavik, Stornoway and then through the south of France into the Middle East. I live in the middle East and while most airports do have 100LL, the Chuck Yeager in me ( Higher, Farther, etc......) tells me that I may want to go someplace near the ( return flight ) limits of my range which does not have 100LL.

I have a 1975 T337G, Pressurized Skymaster with Riley Intercoolers and 148 Gallon factory Fuel Complement.

I can do the trip with the existing fuel tankage, but I am also thinking that it would be nice to have that extra margin.

Reading the supplement information for one type of available tank system, they have "interesting" limitations that call for a minimum amount of fuel in each tank when operating between certain weights. Also, I will only be able to carry myself and a really light passenger when operating at full fuel ( usefull load after full fiuel becomes about 210 lbs.)

I cannot envision, nor would I seriously contemplate a scenario where I would want to have 4 persons AND full fuel.

The questions I am asking myself ( and they are mostly philosphical ) are questions like:

1. For a man who likes to keep things as simple as possible, does having these tanks make the planning for everyday flying "here and there" unnecessarily complicated?

2. Do my structural safety margins become tighter by having and using these tanks?

3. Is it worth the expense?

4. Any other questions I should be considering?

Any comments from the "Conventional Wisdom, or other wisdom"?

Best Regards,......Barry Sloane, N187