Definition
A central distribution chamber in a fuel injection system that receives metered fuel from the fuel control unit and divides it among individual fuel lines leading to each cylinder's discharge nozzle.
Plain English
A small junction box for fuel. It takes the fuel coming in from one line and splits it evenly into separate lines, one for each cylinder.
Context Anchor
You will see this term when studying fuel-injection systems, engine fuel flow, rough engine operation, and fuel-system inspections.
Derivation
Manifold comes from Old English meaning 'many-fold' or 'having many parts.' In engineering, a manifold is any chamber with one inlet and several outlets (or vice versa). The fuel manifold is the part that takes one fuel supply and folds it out into many cylinder feeds.
Why Pilots Care
Even fuel distribution prevents rough running, power loss, or overheating in one or more cylinders.
Intuition Check
Do not confuse a fuel manifold with the intake manifold or with manifold pressure. A fuel manifold handles fuel distribution; it is not the air passage into the engine and it is not a pressure reading on the instrument panel.
Example Sentence 1
After the fuel control unit meters the fuel, it flows into the fuel manifold, which routes it to each cylinder's discharge nozzle.
Example Sentence 2
A clogged fuel manifold caused uneven cylinder temperatures on the last flight.