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#11
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AeroStar Fuel system?
"John" wrote in message ... On Nov 16, 1:49 pm, Ray Andraka wrote: Denny wrote: Similar situation in Super Vikings... There it has a gauge for each tank and the gauges read the tanks in use... The problem was that the unselected tanks would show some reading, not having anything to do with the actual fuel in them because the gauge was unpowered when the tank was not selected and the needles would drift wherever they would... The pilots manual was clear on this, but some folks can't be bothered to read... So, guys would look at the aux tank gauges and it says 2/3 full and they would take off... But the tanks were not near full and the reading was spurious until the gauge was powered by selecting that tank... More than one Super Vike bought the farm because some pilot didn't understand his machine... denny What ever happened to eyeballing the fuel during preflight?- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - I wonder how good of a job you can do eyeballing fuel on planes with thin tanks. I am not saying it's not worth it, but I wonder if you can discern a real difference by looking. It seems like it could be hard especially on an unlevel surface. IIRC the Aerostar POH specifically cautions against fueling on uneven surfaces. take care . . . John The City just put in some "T" hangars at RBG. One of the drainage gutters ended up 9 inches higher than the taxiway it was to drain. The new single engine hangars rent for $200 a month, and you can't put most singles into them. The center wall is too close to the door. All of the taxiways on this part of the airport have a considerable slope. At one end of the hangar door the ramp is 2 inches higher than the floor, and on the other side of the door 2 to 3 inches lower than the floor. Apparently this gentleman pulled his aircraft out of the hangar, onto the taxiway, and had it topped off. The lineman estimates one tip was 12-14 inches higher than the other. There is apparently a warning in the Aerostar book about slope and "full fuel load". It also appears, to me, that even with a mis-fueling, there were many chances to avoid the eventual result, a stall spin into an Orange grove outside of Bakersfield. A good friend of mine was in the back seat, and I can't imagine her staying completely quiet as the situation developed over a period of several hours. Al G |
#12
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AeroStar Fuel system?
On Nov 26, 7:21 pm, "Al G" wrote:
"John" wrote in message ... On Nov 16, 1:49 pm, Ray Andraka wrote: Denny wrote: Similar situation in Super Vikings... There it has a gauge for each tank and the gauges read the tanks in use... The problem was that the unselected tanks would show some reading, not having anything to do with the actual fuel in them because the gauge was unpowered when the tank was not selected and the needles would drift wherever they would... The pilots manual was clear on this, but some folks can't be bothered to read... So, guys would look at the aux tank gauges and it says 2/3 full and they would take off... But the tanks were not near full and the reading was spurious until the gauge was powered by selecting that tank... More than one Super Vike bought the farm because some pilot didn't understand his machine... denny What ever happened to eyeballing the fuel during preflight?- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - I wonder how good of a job you can do eyeballing fuel on planes with thin tanks. I am not saying it's not worth it, but I wonder if you can discern a real difference by looking. It seems like it could be hard especially on an unlevel surface. IIRC the Aerostar POH specifically cautions against fueling on uneven surfaces. take care . . . John The City just put in some "T" hangars at RBG. One of the drainage gutters ended up 9 inches higher than the taxiway it was to drain. The new single engine hangars rent for $200 a month, and you can't put most singles into them. The center wall is too close to the door. All of the taxiways on this part of the airport have a considerable slope. At one end of the hangar door the ramp is 2 inches higher than the floor, and on the other side of the door 2 to 3 inches lower than the floor. Apparently this gentleman pulled his aircraft out of the hangar, onto the taxiway, and had it topped off. The lineman estimates one tip was 12-14 inches higher than the other. There is apparently a warning in the Aerostar book about slope and "full fuel load". It also appears, to me, that even with a mis-fueling, there were many chances to avoid the eventual result, a stall spin into an Orange grove outside of Bakersfield. A good friend of mine was in the back seat, and I can't imagine her staying completely quiet as the situation developed over a period of several hours. Al G- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - I have never flown in an Aerostar . . . but it does seem with those three big fuel gauges parked in front of your nose, it would be hard to miss an issue developing. IMHO, if you can afford an Aerostar (or any other hiigh performance twin), you should consider installing a totalizer and making friends with it |
#13
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AeroStar Fuel system?
"John" wrote in message ... On Nov 26, 7:21 pm, "Al G" wrote: "John" wrote in message ... On Nov 16, 1:49 pm, Ray Andraka wrote: Denny wrote: Similar situation in Super Vikings... There it has a gauge for each tank and the gauges read the tanks in use... The problem was that the unselected tanks would show some reading, not having anything to do with the actual fuel in them because the gauge was unpowered when the tank was not selected and the needles would drift wherever they would... The pilots manual was clear on this, but some folks can't be bothered to read... So, guys would look at the aux tank gauges and it says 2/3 full and they would take off... But the tanks were not near full and the reading was spurious until the gauge was powered by selecting that tank... More than one Super Vike bought the farm because some pilot didn't understand his machine... denny What ever happened to eyeballing the fuel during preflight?- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - I wonder how good of a job you can do eyeballing fuel on planes with thin tanks. I am not saying it's not worth it, but I wonder if you can discern a real difference by looking. It seems like it could be hard especially on an unlevel surface. IIRC the Aerostar POH specifically cautions against fueling on uneven surfaces. take care . . . John The City just put in some "T" hangars at RBG. One of the drainage gutters ended up 9 inches higher than the taxiway it was to drain. The new single engine hangars rent for $200 a month, and you can't put most singles into them. The center wall is too close to the door. All of the taxiways on this part of the airport have a considerable slope. At one end of the hangar door the ramp is 2 inches higher than the floor, and on the other side of the door 2 to 3 inches lower than the floor. Apparently this gentleman pulled his aircraft out of the hangar, onto the taxiway, and had it topped off. The lineman estimates one tip was 12-14 inches higher than the other. There is apparently a warning in the Aerostar book about slope and "full fuel load". It also appears, to me, that even with a mis-fueling, there were many chances to avoid the eventual result, a stall spin into an Orange grove outside of Bakersfield. A good friend of mine was in the back seat, and I can't imagine her staying completely quiet as the situation developed over a period of several hours. Al G- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - I have never flown in an Aerostar . . . but it does seem with those three big fuel gauges parked in front of your nose, it would be hard to miss an issue developing. IMHO, if you can afford an Aerostar (or any other hiigh performance twin), you should consider installing a totalizer and making friends with it I believe he had a totalizer, knew how to use it, and relied on it. Of course if you think you've "Topped" off the tanks, tell the totalizer that it has 165.5 gallons to work with, and that fuel is not on board, the totalizer does not help. In fact, if you lie to it, and then rely on it, it is counter productive. IMHO, he should have had a good idea how much fuel it would take before he called the lineman to request fuel in the first place. If the lineman didn't put in what you expected, the first warning flag gets raised. At some point, however, the wing tanks are empty, and they were running off the 41 gallons in the fuselage tank. With an average burn around 42-44 gph, they should have been heading DIRECTLY to an airport at that time. The second warning flag gets raised. He was on an IFR flight plan, and even disregarding an alternate, he still has a 45 minute reserve requirement. At 11:25, 20nm North of Fresno, he changed destinations for a fuel stop at Bakersfield. It would not be inaccurate to note that he overflew a dozen airports with fuel available. Flameout was 35 minutes later and the emergency landing didn't go well. If you know you are already within that last 45 minutes, You should be on the ground NOW. Why head for an airport 100nm+ away? If you are going to do that, do it with 1 feathered, and at best glide until you have the new destination made. There is an old flight instructor story about cooking frogs. If you put a frog it hot water, he jumps out. If you put him in warm water he stays and likes it. Gradually heat the water, and by the time the frog decides to leave, it is too late to make the departure. Many emergencies happen very gradually. Be prepared to swallow your pride, and act, earlier than you think is really necessary. Al G CFIAMI |
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