Fuel selector question

wrote:
If you ever get to a situation where you are worried about fuel, you
switch to one tank and start your watch, when that tank runs dry
(engine splutters) you will have a very good idea of how much flying
time you have left. This knowlege will enable you to decide if your
chosen alternate airfield is in reach or if you neeed to start your
precautionary landing procedures (looking for a paddock etc.)


If you're worried about fuel, you don't have enough.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com

Gene Seibel wrote:
If you are running on "BOTH" and there is an obstruction in a fuel
line, fuel could feed only from the other tank and you might find
yourself with fuel starvation long before you expect it. Changing
between left and right on a regular basis may let you discover such a
problem before it's an emergency. A close watch on fuel gauges and
being sensitive to heavy wing helps too.

In a similar vein, I was reading recently (I think on the AOPA site) about
a poor slob in a Cessna that mistakenly left a fuel cap off. Since his
selector was on "both", the vacuum from the open hole not only drained the
tank he was using, but also sucked the fuel out of the other tank as well.
As I recall he made a successful emergency landing in a lake (floatplane),
but it wasn't big enough to fly back out of.

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)

--
Message posted via AviationKB.com
http://www.aviationkb.com/Uwe/Forums...ation/200710/1

Mortimer Schnerd, RN wrote:
wrote:
...(looking for a paddock etc.)

If you're worried about fuel, you don't have enough.

Contrariwise, if you don't have a paddock, you aren't worried enough.



TheSmokingGnu

On 10/5/2007 4:52:53 PM, "Robert M. Gary" wrote:

However, its nice to know that if I
ever did run out of gas, I could always switch to the other tank and
having something left.

Assuming you didn't run that tank to fumes 30 minutes earlier.

--
Peter

On Oct 5, 11:53 am, B A R R Y wrote:
On Fri, 5 Oct 2007 08:21:50 -0500, "Maxwell"
wrote:



The POH will answer that.

Wise ass.

What's up with that?

Getting a new pilot into the habit of going to the POH _first_, is a
bad thing? G

The POH for the 1958 Luscombe I used to fly had a 10-page POH. I
imagine the older cessna models were the same.

Besides, how many times have you really switched tanks in a 172? The
last time I tried to turn the fuel switch in a 172 to demonstrate to a
student, it felt like I might break something. It probably has never
been touched in years.

The OP has a damn good question, so telling him to "go read the POH'
is very patronizing and reflects poorly on all pilots' attitudes
towards new students. And you wonder why the student population is
declining in aviation. I once flew with a smart-ass CFI like this. I
flew with him only once, and unfortunately that experience kept me
from coming back for a long time. Be careful about how you treat new
comers to aviation.

On Oct 5, 3:07 pm, "JGalban via AviationKB.com" u32749@uwe wrote:
Gene Seibel wrote:
If you are running on "BOTH" and there is an obstruction in a fuel
line, fuel could feed only from the other tank and you might find
yourself with fuel starvation long before you expect it. Changing
between left and right on a regular basis may let you discover such a
problem before it's an emergency. A close watch on fuel gauges and
being sensitive to heavy wing helps too.

In a similar vein, I was reading recently (I think on the AOPA site) about
a poor slob in a Cessna that mistakenly left a fuel cap off. Since his
selector was on "both", the vacuum from the open hole not only drained the
tank he was using, but also sucked the fuel out of the other tank as well.
As I recall he made a successful emergency landing in a lake (floatplane),
but it wasn't big enough to fly back out of.

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)

--
Message posted via AviationKB.comhttp://www.aviationkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/aviation/200710/1

I totally don't believe that. Have a link? I once had a fuel cap come
off in flight, and all it did was jettison about a quarter of the fuel
on that side. This was in a AMD Alarus, which has a really poor fuel
cap design. I'm surprised they don't come off more often.

I don't believe the vacuum is so great as to suck all the fuel out
from both tanks.

On Fri, 05 Oct 2007 20:23:10 -0700, Andrew Sarangan
wrote:

The OP has a damn good question, so telling him to "go read the POH'
is very patronizing and reflects poorly on all pilots' attitudes
towards new students.

OK, so HIS "read the POH" response was a tad harsh, but the overall
message remains a good one.

Be careful about how you treat new
comers to aviation.

You can point someone toward a basic reference in a manner that's
neither condescending or demeaning. G

So perhaps a more pleasant tone would be better?

On Fri, 5 Oct 2007 11:04:50 -0400, "Mortimer Schnerd, RN"
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com wrote:


Frankly, on a C-172 I can't think of any reason either. But different aircraft
have different systems. As you move up the Cessna line you will find aircraft
that don't offer the "both" option. None of the Pipers do. In fact, I can't
think of a general aviation low wing aircraft I ever flew that offered "both" as
an option.

My Beech can't draw from both.

I've been in Turboprop Cessna Grand Caravans (I know, not a 172) who
would draw fuel from the left tank faster than the right tank, so the
left would be shut off for periods of time to even the fuel.

On Oct 6, 7:30 am, B A R R Y wrote:
On Fri, 05 Oct 2007 20:23:10 -0700, Andrew Sarangan

wrote:

The OP has a damn good question, so telling him to "go read the POH'
is very patronizing and reflects poorly on all pilots' attitudes
towards new students.

OK, so HIS "read the POH" response was a tad harsh, but the overall
message remains a good one.

Be careful about how you treat new
comers to aviation.

You can point someone toward a basic reference in a manner that's
neither condescending or demeaning. G

So perhaps a more pleasant tone would be better?

Yes. I can relate to many such instances where a more inviting
attitude from the pilot would have had a different outcome. Long time
ago, even before I was a student pilot, I found out that my college
house mate was a pilot. I had all kinds of questions I wanted to ask
him about flying. But he was behaving like Tom Cruise in Top Gun, and
gave me the impression that I might not be cool enough to become a
pilot. He was never willing to answer any questions except tell me
that "it takes a lot of training and experience". Sort of like
telling someone to "go read the books". I have had other similar
encounters. Actually, I don't think I met a single friendly and
inviting pilot until I became a pilot myself. It is pretty sad.
Despite all that I still managed to become a pilot and CFI. I am just
very sensitive about how pilots treat other people expressing interest
in aviation.

On Sat, 06 Oct 2007 07:51:56 -0700, Andrew Sarangan
wrote:


Despite all that I still managed to become a pilot and CFI. I am just
very sensitive about how pilots treat other people expressing interest
in aviation.


Points well taken! G

I really do try to do the same. I give away my expired charts,
magazines, and printed training materials to non-pilots. I even
offered to mail expired charts to France, when you-know-who first
appeared. One of the local simmers who I've passed lots of charts
to, and explained how to read them, has even enrolled in an actual PP
ground school and gotten up a few times. I'm also one who has
advocated offering "fence hangers" impromptu rides.

I'll try to be more mindful of your experiences when suggesting
students and interested parties look things up themselves.