Gene Whitt wrote:


---You do not have to fly to your legal alternate if you can find a safer
option

....you don't have to fly to it at all. The designation of the alternate
is purely a preflight planning/fuel reserve issue. Further ATC has no
clue what your alternate is.

---Plan to land with your 45-minute required fuel reserve otherwise you can
be busted

Only if you departed without sufficient fuel to hit the desination, the
alternate, and then 45 minutes. It's not illegal to consume your
reserve (inadvisable perhaps, but not illegal).

---Having fuel extends the options available, maxim range flights non-stop
reduce your options
---Your alternate selection is based on pre-flight weather forecasts, void
once in flight

And any forecast, "temporary" or "chance" in the forecast must be
counted as a likely event and drive the selection.


---Never, never rely on fuel gauges as to available fuel, fly by time in
tanks

Always take the more pessimistic view of the guages and your watch.
I've had two friends put down off-field because they had higher than
expected fuel burns (in one case a mechanical failure was found, in the
other, I don't think he'll ever know why the fuel didn't last).