Last month, Athens-based VIP charter operator GainJet Aviation increased its flexibility with a quick change auxiliary fuel tank system from Swiss company Long Range. GainJet (Stand 800) will install the system in its VIP Boeing 737-400, increasing its flight endurance by as much as three-and-a-half hours to a total of nine hours aloft. That brings city pairs such as Dubai-London and New York-Paris within range of the aircraft.

The Long Range system consists of either one or two “master” 449-gallon tanks that are “hard installed” and a series of up to seven 419-gallon quick-change “slave” tanks, easily installed or removed on flush-floor rails in the cargo bay. It takes a team of two line service personnel with a forklift about two hours to install or remove the slave tanks. No specialized tools or maintenance paperwork are required. The master tanks incorporate all the plumbing and connections to feed fuel to the aircraft’s center fuel tank. The slave tanks feed the master.

“Think of Legos snapping together,” said Karl Lang, CEO of Long Range. The slave tanks have no pumps, motors or moving parts of any kind. Cabin pressure force feeds fuel to the master tank.

GainJet CEO Ramsey Shaban said the system is ideally suited to his company’s diverse mission profile and varied clientele. He said, “Our B737 classic is [used] by rock bands or football teams carrying plenty of equipment while on regional travel; and highly affluent individuals traveling long distances with a small group of their family and friends. With this system, we’re able to perfectly accommodate our customers’ needs on a case-by-case basis by offering total mission flexibility.”

The cost of the full 2,700-gallon Long Range system is approximately $3 million.