Would you go?

"Andrew Gideon" wrote:

That was my guess, that they probably would have at least left a
note.
But that's assuming good sense on the part of the late shift line
guy, a
very shaky assumption at best.

Considering where he left the broken truck, he appears to be making
your
point for you.

That's what bothered me: they have a tug big enough to pull a 737, so
why just leave the truck sitting there unless there was another reason?
--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

Do you hear anything rattleing in the the fuel tank, like a mini
maglite? - Steve

"Dan Luke" wrote in message
...

"Andrew Gideon" wrote:

That was my guess, that they probably would have at least left a
note.
But that's assuming good sense on the part of the late shift line
guy, a
very shaky assumption at best.

Considering where he left the broken truck, he appears to be making
your
point for you.

That's what bothered me: they have a tug big enough to pull a 737, so
why just leave the truck sitting there unless there was another reason?
--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

There are much more obvious ways to ground an airplane than to park a
truck in front of it. They could have telephoned you, or left you a
note. In our club, we ground an airplane by tying a rag on the prop,
writing a note in the aircraft tachsheet, and calling the crew chief for
that aircraft. Parking a car in front of the hanger is only going to
**** someone off.




"Dan Luke" wrote in
:

You have to take off at dawn to pick up an Angel Flight patient 200
miles away, so you call the FBO the night before to have the airplane
pulled out and fueled.

When you arrive at the airport, you find the fuel truck parked in
front of the airplane, blocking it. The FBO is locked up and no one's
around. Checking the gauges reveals that fuel has been added. You
call the FBO's number, but all you can do is leave a message on the
answering machine asking what's going on.

It's time to go; you could push the plane away from the truck and taxi
away, but now you're wondering: did they block it for a reason? Is
the fuel contaminated? Did someone notice something dangerous about
the plane that you don't see? Did you forget to pay your fuel bill?
What???

In the event, I did an extra careful preflight, took large fuel
samples, did an extended run-up and took off with no problems. Would
you have?

Dan Luke wrote:
[zap]
It's time to go; you could push the plane away from the truck and taxi
away, but now you're wondering: did they block it for a reason? Is the
fuel contaminated? Did someone notice something dangerous about the
plane that you don't see? Did you forget to pay your fuel bill?
What???

In the event, I did an extra careful preflight, took large fuel samples,
did an extended run-up and took off with no problems. Would you have?

I would have done the same as you.

My suggestion for the day: Always preflight as though you found the truck
blocking your plane, and always fly like you have the DE sitting next to
you.

Hilton

I would not have even thought about it like that. I would have flown and
then, if it still bothered me, complained to the FBO when I got back.

"Dan Luke" writes:

In the event, I did an extra careful preflight, took large fuel samples,
did an extended run-up and took off with no problems. Would you have?

Yes. Line-guys are not studying Rocket Science for a reason.

The truck's still sitting in front of my airplane this morning (Monday).

According to a different FBO lady this morning, the brakes are locked
(emergency brake?), which is why they couldn't move it.

Much is explained, except why they couldn't have called me to let me know
what the problem was when it happened.
--
Dan
C-172RG at BFM

Dan Luke wrote:

The truck's still sitting in front of my airplane this morning (Monday).

According to a different FBO lady this morning, the brakes are locked
(emergency brake?), which is why they couldn't move it.

Much is explained, except why they couldn't have called me to let me know
what the problem was when it happened.

Have you ever seen a parking lot handle a car left w/o the keys? There are
these doohickeys which they put under each of the wheels. When "closed" or
"activated", they actually raise each wheel off the ground. At that point,
the car can be easily moved.

Obviously, a fuel truck is heavier than a car. But *someone* should be able
to tow the thing even with locked brakes.

- Andrew

The problem is not one of someone having an engine strong enough to
move the truck, but rather that person getting enough traction to be
able to do it... If the truck only had the rear brakes locked, it
*might* be possible to drag it out of the way with a 4WD pickup in
4WD-low gear... If you get some water on the pavement under the fuel
truck's tires, it might help if you can manage to transition from
static to sliding friction on the locked tires while maintaining static
friction on your pickup's tires... Moving a heavier vehicle with a
lighter vehicle takes more than a powerful engine... If you don't have
better traction, all you do is spin your wheels... If you've got
traction and a low enough gear, you can move anything regardless of
your weight...

Grumman-581 wrote:

If the truck only had the rear brakes locked, it
might be possible to drag it out of the way with a 4WD pickup in
4WD-low gear

The device to which I refer reduces the traction of the stuck vehicle by
getting its wheels off the ground. That leaves the vehicle on the wheels
of the device, and they are not locked.

I've only seen this used on automobiles, but I'm sure there's an analog for
trucks.

- Andrew