In fact, Deakin is very clear that if you can't figure out these types of
details, you probably shouldn't be flying at all. He also states there
are exceptions to every rule and even provides one. He clearly is making
the distinction betweena purposeful act of running a tank dry at a
planning time and place is not confusing this with running out of gas;
which Jay seems to be completely confused by.

The only thing I'm confused about is how a group of pilots can sit here and
argue -- on the STUDENT forum, of all things -- that running a gas tank dry
in flight, on purpose, is a wise thing to do.

Apparently you can't grasp the subtlety of what I'm saying, so allow me to
bludgeon you with it: Any pilot who knowingly, willingly and routinely runs
gas tanks dry in flight displays a cavalier attitude toward fuel management.
Running a tank dry by accident indicates poor planning. Running a tank dry
on purpose indicates poor fuel management. Both are dumb. Both are
dangerous.

To suggest otherwise in a forum where student pilots gather is unwise.

Lastly, I should add, I believe this type of procedure is SOP for many
military piston pilots where range it critical to their mission. Please
correct me as needed. If this were a high risk venture, I doubt it would
SOP. As such, I believe the risk of a non-start for many planes is very
low. IMHO, the only remaining question is, what risk are you willing to
tolorate and what is the REAL risk of a non-start. Is the risk one in a
million? One in a billion? One in a hundred?

You ask this question as if we are on an equal situational footing with
military pilots. 99.999% of the people reading this post are GA pilots (or
students) whose main concern will be missing a day of work if they're late
getting back from vacation. There is NO reason for any pilot here to fly to
the maximum range of their aircraft, and to talk about using a procedure
that is "SOP for many military piston pilots where range is critical to
their mission", as if that is justification for running a tank dry, is just
crazy talk.

Do you run your engine as low as possible on oil, too, just to extend the
range between oil changes? Shoot, according the book, my Lycoming O-540
will run on as little as 2 quarts of oil -- why am I dumping those other 10
quarts in, anyway?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"