On Oct 20, 10:55*pm, flybynightkarmarepair wrote:
(snip)
I recall a LONG argument on this forum *(or maybe it was on a Zenith
601 forum - LOTS of that design fly with a system VERY much like
you're advocating) about unporting a tank at low fuel levels and
sucking air, that I don't want to rehash, but I'll just note that I'm
firmly in the LEFT/RIGHT/OFF fuel selector camp for low wing planes
with wing tanks.

Just one more word on the subject and I'll go back to lurk around.

Since the Ercoupe design feeds the engine from the header tank,
unporting of a wing tank may momentarily interrupt the replenishment
of the header tank - but will not interrupt fuel flow to the engine.
Indeed, when the wing tank(s) are empty, the fuel pump is just suckin'
air. No harm, no foul.

I remember when I was young and stupid (as opposed to now being old
and senile), I left Buchanan Field - Concord, CA just North of S.F.
and headed south in a '46 Ercoupe. It took 30 minutes to climb to 9.5K
as I remember and we had a nice north tailwind. As we neared Los
Angeles the cork float gauge on the header tank was on it's way down.
I had a sectional on my lap and was going to fly the freeways down to
Fullerton airport. Should make it easy. Hah! We hit the smog and
horizontal visibility went to zilch. I could see straight down, so I
followed the concrete. Then we came to an interchange. Do you know how
many frippin' freeways there are in L.A.!!! I was so lost I couldn't
find my butt with both hands.

After 10 - 15 minutes of screwing around, I called L.A. Approach and
confessed. Note: This was way before transponders were common in civil
aircraft. They came right back with no help at all. Advised me to fly
west until I saw water IIRC. All of a sudden, there it was.
Disneyland! I turned the map around until it was right and decided the
nearest airport was only a couple of miles in front of me. Trouble
being, it was a Naval Air Station. I told LAX I was going to land
there and they advised me that I would never take off again. They were
able to give me vectors to Fullerton and I turned that way. The float
gauge was no longer bobbing - it just sat still. I figured the engine
could quit any second.

In less the five minutes it seemed, we were approaching Fullerton. I
called the tower, advised low fuel, was told to enter downwind and I
was #15 to land. "Did I want to declare an emergency?" Thinking of the
reams of paperwork sure to follow, I gulped, "Not at this time." We
finally kissed the pavement and even taxiied off to the FBO. Fueling
up, I paid for just 1/10th gallon less than the usable capacity of the
three tanks. I never let the fuel get nearly that low again. Later in
that same trip, we flew North into the Grand Canyon and then couldn't
climb back up and out over the North Rim. But that's another story.

Rich S.