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John Smith wrote:
The float detached from the sender in the right main tank on the PA32-300 I flew to Florida a year ago. The gauge was therefore inop. The aircraft is equipped with a FS-450 fuel flow monitor. I used this in place of the specific fuel gauge. The FS-450 is accurately calibrated to within 0.2 gallons, much better accurate than the manufacturer's fuel gauge. Was I legal? No. The FS-450 installation instructions, which are a part of the STC, specifically say "a placard stating 'Do Not Rely on Fuel Flow Instrument to Determine Fuel Levels in Tanks' must be mounted on the aircraft instrument panel near the FS-450." Of course, the float didn't fall off until right before someone important noticed it fell off, so until it fell off you were legal ;-). Does a tree that falls in a forest make a sound? |
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The float detached from the sender in the right main tank on the
PA32-300 I flew to Florida a year ago. The gauge was therefore inop. The aircraft is equipped with a FS-450 fuel flow monitor. I used this in place of the specific fuel gauge. The FS-450 is accurately calibrated to within 0.2 gallons, much better accurate than the manufacturer's fuel gauge. Was I legal? I also have the JPI FS-450 digital fuel flow gauge in our plane, which is a hundred times more accurate than the Piper fuel tank gauges. Even with this very powerful tool in our arsenal, we STILL rely on only the timer, and visual verification of fuel levels. Bottom line: If you rely on a fuel gauge (instead of physically looking in the tank) you are taking a risk. We did not feel that flying with an inoperative gauge that is "normally" horribly inaccurate was taking any kind of risk whatsoever. Mary and I would not have flown the plane if we had not considered doing so to be utterly, 100% safe. It appears that the regulation we may have violated (and I'm still not convinced that we did) had little connection to practical reality. -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
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On Feb 21, 11:05*pm, "Jay Honeck" wrote:
Bottom line: If you rely on a fuel gauge (instead of physically looking in the tank) you are taking a risk. That's been affirmed several times in this thread. It's never been in dispute. No one suggests using the gauges INSTEAD of inspection and timing. What's being questioned is using inspection and timing ALONE, with no way to detect a fuel leak. I also have the JPI FS-450 digital fuel flow gauge in our plane, which is a hundred times more accurate than the Piper fuel tank gauges. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but a flow gauge has no way of sensing the amount of fuel actually in the tank, does it? So it has no way of indicating a leak, which is the whole crux of the matter. It appears that the regulation we may have violated (and I'm still not convinced that we did) Really? FAR 91.205b9 requires, "in operable condition", a "fuel gauge indicating the quantity of fuel in each tank". Can you explain how you think that could be consistent with a tank that lacks a working fuel gauge? had little connection to practical reality. Unless you consider it practical to be warned if you're leaking fuel. |
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