Running dry?

On 19 Aug 2005 10:48:45 -0700, "Robert M. Gary"
wrote:

Too many of you have been reading "The Cheap *******'s Pilot's Guide".
I have good working gauges and a fuel computer that has been
professionally calibrated and verified at each 100 hour inspection. I
don't need to make the wife want to leave me in order to know how much
fuel I have. Flying over the Sierras, dodging TS's is exciting enough,
I don't need to turn off the fan to add more excitment to my life.

What happens if a tank develops a leak? We had a Comanche go down a
few years ago due to running out of fuel. He took off with full fuel
and at that point should have had near half left.

The verdict? Mice had chewed holes in the bladders. When he fueled
up the pressure kept the bladders sealed against the metal so no leaks
were apparent, but once in the air the turbulence kept him bouncing
enough that the tanks lost a lot of fuel.

He knew how much he burned, but the gauges were bouncing too, or at
least until they were near empty. He was doing really well on that
paved mountain road until he found that mail box sent on a steel pipe
full of concrete.

No injuries except for the airplane and with a new wing it's been back
flying for some time.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com