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).

You can't check all possible scenarios, but water and jet fuel are
heavier than 100LL, and will sink to the bottom of the tank. It should
show up in the sump drain, so there is no excuse for overlooking it. I
suppose a contamination ligher than 100LL may not show up until later.

You are correct that low probability does not mean impossible. However,
we can't live life that way. There is a finite probability that you will
win the lottery, but you can plan your life around that.





Greg Farris wrote in news:dadpi3$23o4$2
@biggoron.nerim.net:

This is purely theoretical - it is not something I am planning for
next
Saturday :

If you are to fly over an expanse of water or other inhospitible
terrain, for a distance long enough to require re-fueling immediately
prior (US-Europe ferry, for example) - You watch to see that they put
the right fuel in your plane, but you can really only see what's
stenciled on the side of the truck, not what's inside (call me
paranoid
- what if the line guy is someone I owe money to). How long do you
have
to fly before a fuel contamination problem manifests itself? Does this
depend on how empty your tanks were? I'm guessing no - I'm guessing
this
type of problem - any serious fuel contamination problem - would show
up
within minutes. Anyone really know this. Anyone here learn this the
hard
way?

I've also noted, though far less certain, a number of vacuum or AI
failures take place within the first minutes of flight, not to mention
engines throwing rods etc. You can see what I'm getting at - how
useful
a survival instinct would it be to fly, say 20 minutes, up the
Icelandic
coast, then double back before setting out across the great void?
(Obviously you've already taken the other measures, and you are
wearing
your survival gear etc).

Another question : I read an official accident report (not a newspaper
report) in which ground personnel refilled a small plane's oxygen
tanks
with compressed air before a mountain crossing. The pilot died in the
ensuing accident, but miraculously the single passenger survived to
confirm the oxygen-related unconciousness of the pilot as the cause of
the crash. What could this pilot have done to defend against this
"rare
but not impossible" event?

We assume that in aviation - unlike on the road - we may kill
ourselves
by our own mistakes, but the likliehood of being killed by the
mistakes
of others is very far removed. This is certainly justified, however
very
far removed does not mean impossible, and our preventive measures
should
try to preclude suce events if we can.

G Faris

Actually, it will take a lot longer for all the water to settle to the
bottom. Tiny droplets of water setlle at an extremely slow rate, and even a
small agitation will disturb them back into the fuel. The basic idea of the
sump drain is not just to remove water, but to indicate that there is a
problem with the fuel. Once you detect water in the sumps, it's going to
take a lot longer than 5 minutes to get going.



"lardsoup" wrote in
:

An Instructor once told me that it takes 5 minutes per inch of fuel in
the tank for all the water (if any) to show up in the sumps. Don't
know where he got that from, but I thought I'd pass it on.

Regarding your AirVenture trip...

email me: eroodatrrohio.com (make the appropriate substitutions)