Marc J. Zeitlin wrote:

Plus, when I would run one tank dry BEFORE I had the FF gauge, it would
be the only time that I would know EXACTLY how much fuel I had left in
the plane. Seems like something worth knowing.

That's only true if you never switch tanks until one tank is dry. If
you run one tank dry, then switch tanks only to find you have
contaminated fuel or, worse, a clogged fuel line, you're pretty much toast.

And if you do swap tanks every [insert favorite time here], then this
argument for running one tank dry doesn't hold up.


I'm totally confused as to what the dangerous part of this action might
be. The engine was running before - it'll run after 3 seconds of not
quite getting enough fuel.

See above. If you switch tanks after three hours of running at 8.5gph
and find your other tank is worthless (contaminated or clogged fuel
line), you can still switch back to the first tank and maybe have enough
fuel to make an emergency powered landing at a nearby airfield instead
of an emergency dead stick landing in Farmer John's corn field (it
looked like a wheat field from the air!). Of course, you don't know how
much fuel you have left in the first tank, nor how long it will last,
but you *do* know for a fact that it will last longer than an empty tank.

In any case, knowing that I have exactly 28 gallons left after 3 hours
and 7 minutes instead of knowing that I have at least 28 gallons left
after 3 hours doesn't mean enough to me to risk not being able to
restart the engine.

Just my opinion.


-m
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