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hank jarrett · 11 December 2008, 06:02 PM

My opinion on fuel problems? Two causes jump to the front,
1) STUPID mistakes, like figuring your fuel burn wrong or using the wrong fuel, or not checking for water. There is NO excuse for these mistakes and they continue to cause accidents. We have GOT to get smarter and more careful. NEVER think it can't happen to you or that you are smarter than that. If you do you really increase your chances of becoming a statistic.
2) Complex fuel management systems. I have seen some fuel systems on factory built airplanes that confused the snot out of me till I had really studied them. I shudder to think what I might do when the tension meter is pegged. Switching to an empty tank and going silent with fuel aboard has killed professional pilots too many times to count. We have GOT to make sure our fuel systems are clear and easy to use.
Hank

By the way, my FIRST cross country flight was in a friends Piper Cherokee where we suffered a slowly progressive engine failure, WHILE WE WERE LOST over eastern Virginia and more trees than I knew existed. We broke a ring and pumped all the oil over the side. I was a sailplane pilot at the time and hadn't ever taken a lesson in power planes. I thought the other guy was navigating and he thought I was (I was on the controls so I will take the dummy of the day hit on that one). The look on his face when I told him I wasn't navigating was priceless, but we didn't laugh. He took the controls with a death grip with us loosing altitude WAY too fast. I asked for the controls back and smoothed things out (which surprised us both). Sailplane experience is a tremendous help in an engine out. NOT PANICING is an even bigger help. We found a private strip and made it down safely (there is a LOT more to this story, but most is not relevant to safety). If you are ever in a plane where the power is gone (pretty common in a sailplane) STAY CALM, FLY SMOOTH, there is no danger till you get to the ground except what you create.
TAKE SOME TIME IN A SAILPLANE! Not only will you have a GREAT time, you will learn about picking safe landing sites (WAY better than you will ever get from a power instructor), smooth control for best range and longest duration, and if you get a good instructor, the best things to hit and best way to hit them for survival. I also got some great training in collision avoidance (ever seen a gaggle of sailplanes in a thermal? That's why we wear chutes in competition.)

11 December 2008, 06:02 PM	#3 (permalink)
hank jarrett Two-seater Pilot Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Virginia Beach VA Posts: 222	My opinion on fuel problems? Two causes jump to the front, 1) STUPID mistakes, like figuring your fuel burn wrong or using the wrong fuel, or not checking for water. There is NO excuse for these mistakes and they continue to cause accidents. We have GOT to get smarter and more careful. NEVER think it can't happen to you or that you are smarter than that. If you do you really increase your chances of becoming a statistic. 2) Complex fuel management systems. I have seen some fuel systems on factory built airplanes that confused the snot out of me till I had really studied them. I shudder to think what I might do when the tension meter is pegged. Switching to an empty tank and going silent with fuel aboard has killed professional pilots too many times to count. We have GOT to make sure our fuel systems are clear and easy to use. Hank By the way, my FIRST cross country flight was in a friends Piper Cherokee where we suffered a slowly progressive engine failure, WHILE WE WERE LOST over eastern Virginia and more trees than I knew existed. We broke a ring and pumped all the oil over the side. I was a sailplane pilot at the time and hadn't ever taken a lesson in power planes. I thought the other guy was navigating and he thought I was (I was on the controls so I will take the dummy of the day hit on that one). The look on his face when I told him I wasn't navigating was priceless, but we didn't laugh. He took the controls with a death grip with us loosing altitude WAY too fast. I asked for the controls back and smoothed things out (which surprised us both). Sailplane experience is a tremendous help in an engine out. NOT PANICING is an even bigger help. We found a private strip and made it down safely (there is a LOT more to this story, but most is not relevant to safety). If you are ever in a plane where the power is gone (pretty common in a sailplane) STAY CALM, FLY SMOOTH, there is no danger till you get to the ground except what you create. TAKE SOME TIME IN A SAILPLANE! Not only will you have a GREAT time, you will learn about picking safe landing sites (WAY better than you will ever get from a power instructor), smooth control for best range and longest duration, and if you get a good instructor, the best things to hit and best way to hit them for survival. I also got some great training in collision avoidance (ever seen a gaggle of sailplanes in a thermal? That's why we wear chutes in competition.)