Fuel contamination and other basic survival instincts

Ben Hallert wrote:

Sounds like a good argument to check the sumps on your takes as part of
your preflight. My instructor told me explicitly not to trust the fuel
truck, as PIC it's my responsibillity to make sure he didn't 'fill me
up with water' (was one way he put it).

He taught me to sump the tanks, then verify the color of the fuel
against a white surface. I know that it can take a few minutes for
contamination or wrong fuel to settle to the sumps, but if I _don't_
check, then I lose an opportunity to abort the flight I might have
otherwise had. Basically, it's not a 100% guarentee I'll catch a
problem, but it's certainly better then if I just go on 'faith' (a poor
trait to have in the cockpit, it seems).

First time I fueled at a nice FBO, I felt kinda funny when I sumped and
checked the tank, like the look the fuel guy was giving me was sorta
funny, but I remembered my responsibillity and finished the check.
It's my butt on the line, not his.


First time I fueled at a "nice FBO" (Signature at IAD) i said fill it to
the tabs and they even wrote that on the fuel ticket, so I went about my
business that day. The fueler topped the tanks while I wasn't there, I
returned to find them topped and they had to drain fuel, a lot of hassle
for them and delay for me. I think in that case they would have
preferred that I had watched over them, but at the big FBOs sometimes
unless you're leaving right away you can't get them to do it at a time
you can be there to watch.

at the big FBOs sometimes unless you're leaving right away you can't
get them to do it at a time you can be there to watch.

I was at Signature in BAL recently. I was staying a couple of days
and left an order to top off. The person at the desk asked when I
wanted that done, and I replied, "Any time before Tuesday morning
would be fine". She volunteered that today was Sunday and they give a
$0.50/gal discount on weekends, would I mind if they did it today? I
wish all decisions in aviation were that easy!

"Roy Smith" wrote

She volunteered that today was Sunday and they give a
$0.50/gal discount on weekends, would I mind if they did it today? I
wish all decisions in aviation were that easy!

You did decline, right? g
--
Jim in NC

Posters have been advocating the practice of watching the line service
person fuel the airplane.

I take this a step further. If not at a self-service facility (which
always saves $$$), I request the line person to bring the truck around and
then I fuel the airplane. I sniff the first fuel out of the hose and rub a
few drops between my fingers and thumb (jet fuel smells different and feels
different). I then add the amount I want, and I am able to avoid damage to
the bladder and to the float mechanism that sends info to the fuel quantity
guage.

Yeah, the FBO people sometimes think I'm weird, but in the end, anything
and everything on the subsequent flight is my responsibility, both legally
and morally, and I'm not going to bypass a simple step like direct control
of something that could ruin my whole day. Been doing it that way for over
forty years, and I'll continue, until the day I stop flying.

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).