Running dry?

Frankly Jay if you do not wish to ever run a tank dry that is your
decision. I am not critical of it. However, I do not agree with your
assertion that running a tank dry implies the same sort of situational
awareness that leads to exhausting all fuel in flight and making an
off airport landing/crash.

Running a tank dry probably won't lead to anything worse than sucking all
the crap out of your gas tanks -- but you're missing my point.

Pilots who end up landing off-airport (or, worse, dying) because of
something as stupid as running out of gas have something mis-wired in their
heads. They apparently have learned to feel that it's okay to run on the
bleeding edge of empty, and I'll bet dollars to donuts their fuel management
stupidity wasn't a one-time affair.

Behavior is progressive. You get away with running low on gas once, maybe
you think you can do it again. You look in the tanks, can't see any fuel,
but say to yourself "Well, let's see; I flew only 1.4 hours yesterday, and
I was full before that flight, so I'm SURE I can make it another 3 hours..."

And you get away with THAT.

And then you start trying to extend your range to the max by running a tank
dry before switching tanks, and you get away with THAT. And, before you
know it, by God, you've figured out how to fly almost 6 hours without
refueling. Now you think you're really hot ****, and you can entirely skip
a planned refueling stop, and save yourself an hour or more -- and you get
away with THAT a few times.

Until that last flight, when the headwinds are more than predicted, and your
guesstimated fuel is off by 20%. Suddenly your tank is running dry, and
you realize that you already ran the *other* tank dry -- and you're heading
for terra firma, pronto. It's not the fact that someone routinely runs a
tank dry before switching that is dangerous; rather, it's the attitude that
this kind of fuel "management" indicates that I find scary.

Here's an easy way to make sure you never run out of gas.

1. Refuel after every flight. You will be ready to go for your next flight,
and can rest assured that you have gas on board. (Renters will have to
switch this to refueling BEFORE every flight.)

2. Install a fuel totalizer. They are cheap (in aviation money), and will
tell you your fuel usage to within a few ounces. (Sorry, renters. Get on
the FBO to install one.)

3. Never try to stretch your range. Bite the bullet, land and buy gas.

4. Measure your gas with your watch, never your fuel gauges.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"