Confession time (long)

Jeez, how could anyone be that
stupid? WELL, ADD ME TO THE LIST!

Great post, Alan. I'm glad it all worked out.

I, too, top 'er off after every flight. I absolutely refuse to become
one of those "in a bean-field" pilots who stupidly ran out of gas.

But it wasn't always that way. Near the end of our time with our old
Warrior, we often needed to off-load enough gas to carry the four of
us, plus luggage. It got so bad that we had to stop for gas between
here and Oshkosh -- usually only 2 hours away.

The Pathfinder solved all that, and we can effortlessly run with full
tanks (84 gallons), four people and luggage. It's nice knowing that
you've always got 5.5 hours of fuel available.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Welcome to the Close-Call Club. It happened to me recently and I
will never again waste an opportunity to fill up or switch tanks
to the fullest one on downwind in the traffic pattern.

On 2005-04-04, Jay Honeck wrote:
The Pathfinder solved all that, and we can effortlessly run with full
tanks (84 gallons), four people and luggage. It's nice knowing that
you've always got 5.5 hours of fuel available.

When I bought my low-wing, 4-tank airplane after flying mostly C-172s
that never left the "both" position, I though the fuel management aspect
was a negative for the low-wing plane. I actually find it reassuring
that for a typical flight, where I never use the aux tanks at all, I'd
have to run out of gas 4 times before a forced landing.

--
Ben Jackson

http://www.ben.com/

"George Patterson" wrote in message news:e7i4e.2533$7b.110@trndny04...
Yep. I brought my 150 in on fumes once, skirting a thunderstorm to get
home. I
can still taste the bile.

I was helping a friend out who didn't have his license yet and had bought an
AA1C in OK City... We had refueled at Greenville-Majros and thought that we
could make it all the way to Houston-Hobby (HOU)... The AA1C uses sight
tubes with floats in them... The floats had bottomed out, it was at night,
one tank ran empty as I was on base right before turning final... We
couldn't see the runway, so the tower diverted routed us away from the
airport to come around again... I had switched to the non-empty tank, but as
I said, the float was bottomed out... We had no idea how much fuel we might
have had in that wing and definitely didn't want to do a go around... I was
looking very carefully at the highways in case I had to try to land on one
of them... Came in a bit to fast, hit nosegear first and porpoised...
Normally, this is an immediate go-around on a AA1x or AA5x, but I didn't
want to risk it... Added power, floated in ground effect for a bit and tried
again... Porpoised again... Added power, floated in ground effect again and
made the next attempt... Got stopped just shy of the grass at the end of the
the 7602 ft runway... At least I think we were landing on 12R... If it was
12L, it was 5148 ft... We had enough fuel to taxi back, but weren't even
sure we would make it that far... That silence of the engine quitting at
night is deafening...

More than one of us would have had you sentenced to old sparky if anything
would have happened to those beautiful dogs!


"Alan" wrote in message
...

In my 10+ years of flying, I've set several personal minimums for
myself. One of them is to never be in the air with much less than
half tanks of fuel. My Skylane burns 11.5gph like clockwork and
holds 65 gallons total in both wings, 55 gallons useable. I usually
fly for about 2.5 or 3 hours and then fill up. I like the safety edge
and besides, it prevents me from having to **** in a bottle!

Admittedly, I'm the judgemental type who sneers at those stories of
pilots running out of gas 5 minutes from their destination or having
to put down in a corn field because they "thought" they had enough
fuel to make it to the airport. Jeez, how could anyone be that
stupid? WELL, ADD ME TO THE LIST!

Sunday was a beautiful day here on the Front Range. High cirrus,
warm temps, calm air. Great day to take the dogs flying out on the
Eastern Plains from Boulder to Kimball, NE. When I preflighted, the
stick showed that I had a half tank of gas in one wing and a little
less than half in the other. Oh yeah, normally I top up after each
flight but the self-serve pump was down after my last flight and I
just put 8565T back in the hanger. First mistake. I told myself
that it's a little less than an hour to get to Kimball so I was fine
and they have a self serve pump there so I can fuel up after landing.

Had a pleasant flight tracking to and then from the Gill VOR to get to
Kimball. The FBO is closed on Sunday and the courtesy wreck was
nowhere to be found. So, we (the dogs and me) walked around the
airport a bit and then decided to head home. I preflighted and
checked the fuel again which showed me down to a little more than a
1/4 tank in each wing. The gauges were more optimistic but, we were
on the ground and I've NEVER trusted the fuel gauges! But, I wanted
to get home (woe is me) and didn't want to fool with the self-serve
pump. I figured I had enough fuel with some to spare and besides, I
could land at Greeley, Fort-Love or Longmont in a pinch. So I took
off. Second mistake and first opportunity lost.

About 15 minutes into the flight I noticed that the fuel gauges had
headed south and were hovering below 1/4 for both tanks. I thought
that I could now turn back to Kimball and fill up just to be safe.
But no, my stick showed that I could make it to Boulder. Second
opportunity lost.

As I was approaching Greeley, I was beginning to really get nervous
about the gauges which were now at 1/8. OK, land at Greeley, fill
up and fly home with a clear conscience. But, I'm only 15 minutes
from Boulder - no problem. I can make it. Third opportunity lost.

Now, in addition to nervously watching the gauges which I was sure
were moving every second toward empty, I was also scanning more
intensely for an emergency landing site and going over procedures. I
was doing this even as I passed Fort Collins - Loveland where I had
another chance to land! Ultimate stupidity and fourth opportunity
lost. My rationalization: I'm only 10 minutes from Boulder.

As I got to Longmont, one needle was close to empty and the other was
hovering below 1/8. Hell, I'm just 5 minutes from Boulder - I can
make it. Fifth opportunity lost.

I was sweating as I entered the pattern at Boulder realizing that if
it all quit now, at least I could make the runway. Flew a tight
pattern and dropped down with 40 degrees of flaps. I can say that
I've never been so happy to be on the ground! I taxied to the pumps
and filled up. Put a total of 44 gallons in. Yes, the gauges were
all wrong - not a surprise. My fuel stick, not exactly a precision
instrument, was off. I still had a little less than an hour's
reserve.

However, it could have gone 180 degrees in the opposite direction if
the head winds were fierce, I didn't lean properly or any number of
other circumstances. I took a needless risk for absolutely no reason
than the dreaded get-home-itis. This was the slap in the face, wake
up call and cold water all in one. I had 5 chances to avoid what
could have been a potential disaster and I just kept going. Never
again will I put myself in this situation. It's not worth the risk
and certainly not the stomach stress!

Dogs can fly. (always with half tanks)
http://www.flyingmutts.com

Once, on a major cross country trip I found myself with great weather
and a tailwind flying across Texas. Since I was a bit
behind schedule, I decided to keep going until either the fuel
remaining or sunset made it time to land (I choose not to fly
at night). Sunset came first, with the gauges showing just under
1/4 tank each. I chose a small town airport along my route that the
sectional indicated as having "services". In my plane the gauges
head south when you descend - something I'm familiar with. However,
it is still unsettling to see them bouncing off the pin as you
look for the airport. The landing was uneventful, but guess what?
I found a closed-up FBO and no fuel to be had. Continuing on
into the night low on fuel was unthinkable, so I sought refuge
in the nearby town. A local motel manager was kind enough to arrange a
ride, and there was an excellent restaurant next door
to the motel. So it is no horror story.

Next morning I assessed the situation. The gauges were barely
at the top of the red "no takeoff" zone. Dipping the tanks
confirmed that they were about 1/8 full. The nearest airport
with fuel was only about 10 minutes flight time away. I decided
that I had enough fuel to go, providing that I made as flat a climbout
as possible. The gauges came up a bit after leveling off (as expected).
I made it without problems, but it was easily the most nerve wracking
flight that I have made. From then onwards I resolved to never let my
reserve get below one hour. Incidentally, the day before was my
longest-ever single flight - about 4:45. Another pilot had landed after
me and was in the same situation.

David Johnson

Agreed! Also the reason why I haven't shared this story with my wife.
Simon & Idgie appreciate the compliment. Thanks.

On Tue, 05 Apr 2005 03:53:34 GMT, "H.P." wrote:

More than one of us would have had you sentenced to old sparky if anything
would have happened to those beautiful dogs!

I found a closed-up FBO and no fuel to be had.

Wow, this very scenario happened to us (again) on our way back from Florida
a few weeks ago. Landed, pumps locked, no one there -- no one answers the
phone number listed. The cab company didn't answer, and the motel's phone
number was disconnected. (This was at some podunk town in Missouri...)

Luckily we weren't quite so empty as you -- we still had an hour's fuel on
board -- but launching back into a darkening sky, in unfamiliar territory,
not sure if the NEXT airport was going to be the same way, was a bit
unnerving. Especially at the end of a long, stressful day of flying.

Moral of the story: Don't trust the AOPA directory 100%. (It had said
"fuel available" and showed longer hours for the FBO.)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Add many of us to the list. That's where those personal minimums we
have come from. Mine came as a student pilot on my 3 legged cross
country when I dutifully calculated my fuel required according to
the performance charts, it was reviewed by my CFI and off I went.
The plan was to buy gas at the second stop. I leaned and did
everything right. Times were good with no headwind or anything.
Then when I filled up and they just kept pumping
gas in and it hit me I only had 2or 3 gallons in the tank .. big shock.
Don't know if the carb was messed up or what but it had a lasting
impact on me. Now I keep a fuel log in the plane and calc consumption
by tach hours. If I'm going cross country I start out full and don't
fly more than 3 hrs without stopping.

"Alan" wrote in message
...

WELL, ADD ME TO THE LIST!

Dogs can fly. (always with half tanks)
http://www.flyingmutts.com

Well, I guess I have to add my own confession, although I never dreamed
I would ever admit this publicly. It ranks among the stupidest things
I have EVER done, and I beat myself up over it to this day. Reading
this thread has given me opportunity for catharsis.

I took my wife to Nantucket . . . something we do every year in August.
We have friends with a house, I take them all for airplane rides and
spend time at the beach . . . then we fly back, departing just before
sunset and then finishing the 2 hour flight at night.

I signed in at ACK and gave my fuel order to the desk. At home, I use
my autofuel STC and was buying fuel for $1.79 then. . . and I saw the
price of fuel ($3.69) and instead of my usual "top it off", I figured,
I only burn about 8 gal per hour . . . it's a 2 hour flight and I
already have some fuel on board, so I said "put 9 in each side".

After a wonderful day, we returned to the plane (they have a small van
to take you to your plane because Skyhawks are parked WAY down in the
boonies on the grass). I preflighted and looked into the tanks--could
see the fuel not quite at the tabs. I briefly thought I should call
them to send the fuel truck to get some more, but "it's only 2 . . .
maybe 2.4 hours", I rationalized. I had made this flight many times. I
don't want to wait, I want to get going. That's one of my personality
defects.

We departed with flight following . . . Cape Approach, Providence, then
New York . . . I was only able to do about 88-90 kts . . . headwind was
a little stronger than I anticipated, and I kept fixating on the fuel
guages as we watched the sunset turn into night along the Connecticut
coastline. The right tank was showing 1/4 but the left was showing
1/2. Past New Haven, then Bridgeport . . . it's night and the left
tank still shows 1/2 . . . the right is REAL low . . . less than 1/4.

I decided to switch from "both" to "left" to see if the guage would
respond by drawing from the left only. As soon as I did, the engine
stopped. It wasn't more than a half-second . . . as I quickly switched
back to both and the engine came right back to full power . . . but I
knew I couldn't have much left. I told Approach I was diverting to
Danbury immediately. I was 8 miles away from it at 4500. I punched in
the Tower frequency and I beelined for the field. It was the longest 8
miles I have ever flown . . . When I landed and filled up, it took 27
gals . . . I hold 36 useable. It was normally only 20 minutes to home
from there, but with that headwind, I'll never know if I would have
ever made it to my home field if I hadn't stopped at DXR.

I kept thinking to myself that dying wouldn't be as bad as having it be
because of something so stupid as running out of gas. After 30 years
of flying, THAT'S what would be my aviation epitaph . . . HE RAN OUT OF
FUEL. And I would have killed my own wife, who trusts me and has
confidence in me, and all because I was being CHEAP at the fuel pump!

I thank God a lot for letting me live through that.

Ever since, when we are at ACK, I tell them to stuff as much fuel into
the plane as possible. And it's a mistake I will NEVER make again.