Fuel contamination and other basic survival instincts

Take whatever steps you think necessary. I will say this. In 2200 hours
of flying all over the US, Canada and Alaska, I've never seen fuel
contamination with water nor have I had debris in my fuel filter. The
only problem I've ever had is the fueler NOT topping it off completely,
which if you are counting on flying close to your max range with full
tanks can be bad news. There are lots of accidents where pilots run out
of fuel. Do everything you can not to do that. Take whatever steps you
think is necessary. I try and watch the fueler or fill the tanks
myself. I check the gas caps (never had anyone put them on wrong
though).

The odds of someone filling your O2 tanks with air instead of O2 is
just as deadly and just as likley to happen as someone putting Drain-O
on your sandwitch instead of mustard at a Subway restraunt. Well, maybe
not as likley, but you get the idea. Some things in life you just have
to risk. Thats not to say fuel sumps need not be checked, or simple
inspections shouldn't be made, but there exists a line which seperates
reasonable precautions and insanity.

"buttman" wrote in message
ps.com...
The odds of someone filling your O2 tanks with air instead of O2 is
just as deadly and just as likley to happen as someone putting Drain-O
on your sandwitch instead of mustard at a Subway restraunt. Well, maybe
not as likley, but you get the idea. Some things in life you just have
to risk. Thats not to say fuel sumps need not be checked, or simple
inspections shouldn't be made, but there exists a line which seperates
reasonable precautions and insanity.

I'm aware of a story similar to what the original poster mentioned regarding
filling an 02 tank with regular compressed air. It was a C-337 on a
photography mission. The passenger (who was in the back, ready to shoot
photos) passed out at ~20k ft, and the pilot lost consciousness somewhat
higher. The airplane departed from controlled flight, and came apart on the
way down. The wings, tail, etc. came down miles from the fuselage. The
fuselage came down in a tree, killing the pilot. When the fire department
came to pull the body out of the aircraft, the passenger woke up and climbed
down the ladder with the firemen with minor injuries.

True story. I have met the NTSB guy who was the lead investigator. He
indicated that the FBO had been filling O2 tanks with regular compressed air
for a lengthy time. They had to notify the FBO's recent O2 customers on an
emergency basis to let them know that their oxygen tanks needed to be purged
and re-filled.

A very interesting tale which goes to show that there are many, many ways to
die quickly in an airplane. Some of them unforseen.

KB

An Instructor once told me that it takes 5 minutes per inch of fuel in the
tank for all the water (if any) to show up in the sumps. Don't know where
he got that from, but I thought I'd pass it on.

In rec.aviation.ifr lardsoup wrote:
An Instructor once told me that it takes 5 minutes per inch of fuel in the
tank for all the water (if any) to show up in the sumps. Don't know where
he got that from, but I thought I'd pass it on.

CRC Chemistry.

I believe the settling rate of water in 100LL is 1" per minute.
Figure your tanks are 9" deep... check after 9 minutes.
Adjust for the depth of your tanks.

Best regards,

Jer/ "Flight instruction and mountain flying are my vocation!" Eberhard

--
Jer/ (Slash) Eberhard, Mountain Flying Aviation, LTD, Ft Collins, CO
CELL 970 231-6325 EMAIL jer'at'frii.com WEB http://users.frii.com/jer/
C-206 N9513G, CFII Airplane&Glider, FAA-DEN Aviation Safety Counselor
CAP-CO Mission&Aircraft CheckPilot, BM218 HAM N0FZD, 228 Young Eagles!

Actually, it will take a lot longer for all the water to settle to the
bottom. Tiny droplets of water setlle at an extremely slow rate, and even a
small agitation will disturb them back into the fuel. The basic idea of the
sump drain is not just to remove water, but to indicate that there is a
problem with the fuel. Once you detect water in the sumps, it's going to
take a lot longer than 5 minutes to get going.



"lardsoup" wrote in
:

An Instructor once told me that it takes 5 minutes per inch of fuel in
the tank for all the water (if any) to show up in the sumps. Don't
know where he got that from, but I thought I'd pass it on.

You can't check all possible scenarios, but water and jet fuel are
heavier than 100LL, and will sink to the bottom of the tank. It should
show up in the sump drain, so there is no excuse for overlooking it. I
suppose a contamination ligher than 100LL may not show up until later.

You are correct that low probability does not mean impossible. However,
we can't live life that way. There is a finite probability that you will
win the lottery, but you can plan your life around that.





Greg Farris wrote in news:dadpi3$23o4$2
@biggoron.nerim.net:

This is purely theoretical - it is not something I am planning for
next
Saturday :

If you are to fly over an expanse of water or other inhospitible
terrain, for a distance long enough to require re-fueling immediately
prior (US-Europe ferry, for example) - You watch to see that they put
the right fuel in your plane, but you can really only see what's
stenciled on the side of the truck, not what's inside (call me
paranoid
- what if the line guy is someone I owe money to). How long do you
have
to fly before a fuel contamination problem manifests itself? Does this
depend on how empty your tanks were? I'm guessing no - I'm guessing
this
type of problem - any serious fuel contamination problem - would show
up
within minutes. Anyone really know this. Anyone here learn this the
hard
way?

I've also noted, though far less certain, a number of vacuum or AI
failures take place within the first minutes of flight, not to mention
engines throwing rods etc. You can see what I'm getting at - how
useful
a survival instinct would it be to fly, say 20 minutes, up the
Icelandic
coast, then double back before setting out across the great void?
(Obviously you've already taken the other measures, and you are
wearing
your survival gear etc).

Another question : I read an official accident report (not a newspaper
report) in which ground personnel refilled a small plane's oxygen
tanks
with compressed air before a mountain crossing. The pilot died in the
ensuing accident, but miraculously the single passenger survived to
confirm the oxygen-related unconciousness of the pilot as the cause of
the crash. What could this pilot have done to defend against this
"rare
but not impossible" event?

We assume that in aviation - unlike on the road - we may kill
ourselves
by our own mistakes, but the likliehood of being killed by the
mistakes
of others is very far removed. This is certainly justified, however
very
far removed does not mean impossible, and our preventive measures
should
try to preclude suce events if we can.

G Faris

Regarding your AirVenture trip...

email me: eroodatrrohio.com (make the appropriate substitutions)