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"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:4Z9Oe.272046$_o.92006@attbi_s71...

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

Since you have been so didactic in your statements in this thread, I'll
assume you are equally so in this post.


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.)

Might be a problem if you ever need less than full tanks for weight.


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.)

Yes, they will tell you your usage. But... I travel a lot, often landing at
airports where a line guy fills the tanks. They don't all fill to the same
"top", so when I reset my Shadin I don't really know if I have "full" tanks.
I manually subtract 10 gallons from the full setting if the tanks seem lower
than a normal top during preflight.


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

Absolutely.


4. Measure your gas with your watch, never your fuel gauges.

Fuel flow changes dramatically with altitude and power settings. I can burn
anywhere from 12 to 16 GPH. Timing is one input, but using the fuel gauges
and the Shadin are equally worthwhile.

Michael

Michael 182 wrote:
3. Never try to stretch your range. Bite the bullet, land and buy gas.

Absolutely.


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



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

RN,

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


Well, I, for one, like to worry before I don't have enough.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

Thomas Borchert wrote:

RN,

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


Well, I, for one, like to worry before I don't have enough.

I prefer not to worry period.

Ron Lee

On Mon, 22 Aug 2005 01:34:56 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:


4. Measure your gas with your watch, never your fuel gauges.

That has served me well for a long time.

Mike Weller

On Sun, 21 Aug 2005 21:59:07 -0500, Mike Weller
wrote:

On Mon, 22 Aug 2005 01:34:56 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:


4. Measure your gas with your watch, never your fuel gauges.

That has served me well for a long time.

Mike Weller



I used to believe the same mantra. But one flight many years ago changed
my mind.

You need to believe the method that is the most conservative at the time.

Some years ago, when I believed as you wrote, a tank ran dry unexpectedly
about 12,000 feet over the hills of W Va. Not a very hospitable place.
The tank ran dry about 5 minutes before I was planning to switch, at a time
when there should have been about 20 minutes of fuel remaining.

The fact that it ran dry allowed me to refigure my fuel consumption and
know what I had left in the other tank. The closest airport happened to be
my planned destination (CRW) and I landed with maybe 15 minutes of fuel
remaining, instead of the planned for 60 minutes.

The problem turned out to be a leaky gasket in the fuel servo, increasing
my fuel consumption by about 10-15%, if I recall correctly.


Ron (EPM) (N5843Q, Mooney M20E) (CP, ASEL, ASES, IA)

"Ron Rosenfeld" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 21 Aug 2005 21:59:07 -0500, Mike Weller
wrote:

On Mon, 22 Aug 2005 01:34:56 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:


4. Measure your gas with your watch, never your fuel gauges.

That has served me well for a long time.

Mike Weller



I used to believe the same mantra. But one flight many years ago changed
my mind.

You need to believe the method that is the most conservative at the time.

Some years ago, when I believed as you wrote, a tank ran dry unexpectedly
about 12,000 feet over the hills of W Va. Not a very hospitable place.
The tank ran dry about 5 minutes before I was planning to switch, at a
time
when there should have been about 20 minutes of fuel remaining.

The fact that it ran dry allowed me to refigure my fuel consumption and
know what I had left in the other tank. The closest airport happened to
be
my planned destination (CRW) and I landed with maybe 15 minutes of fuel
remaining, instead of the planned for 60 minutes.

The problem turned out to be a leaky gasket in the fuel servo, increasing
my fuel consumption by about 10-15%, if I recall correctly.

What says a fuel gauge is any more or less accurate than a fuel FLOW gauge?

Matt,

What says a fuel gauge is any more or less accurate than a fuel FLOW gauge?


Experience gd&r. Seriously, most fuel gauges are horrendously unreliable.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

On Sun, 21 Aug 2005 20:48:12 -0700, "Matt Barrow"
wrote:

What says a fuel gauge is any more or less accurate than a fuel FLOW gauge?

I don't see the relationship of your question to anything I posted. But
certainly in the ranges over a quarter tank, experience in small a/c show
that a properly calibrated fuel flow gauge is more accurate.

As a matter of fact, I believe that the fuel quantity indicators are only
required to be accurate at zero fuel in level flight (for a/c certified
under Part 23).


Ron (EPM) (N5843Q, Mooney M20E) (CP, ASEL, ASES, IA)