Guys
The only reason for being that low on fuel is if some other aircraft
has
put bullet holes in your tank :)
Regards
Kevin
Sent from my iPad
On 25 Jun 2013, at 11:00, "Frans Veldman" <frans@privatepilots.nl> wrote:
>
> On 06/25/2013 03:26 AM, Kevin Kedward wrote:
>
>> Gentlemen , I'm stunned by this discussion. Why would you wish to go
>> anywhere near running out of fuel?
>
> I guess it is nobody's wish but it sometimes happens. That is why we
> have a reserve after all, to use it when it is needed. Some of us
> (mostly the frequent flyers, the people that travel long distances and
> explore the world with their Europa) have had to use the reserve fuel,
> and that is why we have the reserve fuel after all. Nobody has crashed.
> Be happy that some people are able to describe what happens when you are
> low on fuel and how to get the most out of your reserve fuel.
>
> In my case it was at my homefield, I had radio contact with them, knew
> that I could land there (with many suitable farmer fields on the way to
> it), with a very accurate fuel flow sensor (and return flow sensor, no
> guessing here!), fuel computer with GPS ground speed input, fuel flow
> and fuel level, calibrated tank sensors with a resolution of 1 liter. It
> was a highly reliable exercise in a very safe and predictable
> environment and I arrived with the exact amount of fuel as calculated.
> I'm happy to have had this experience, so I know that I can and know how
> to actually use my reserve in the event of a genuine unforseen situation.
>
>> This talk about
>> changing from one side of the tank and guessing what is sloshing
>> about in the reserve is crazy and what kills people.
>
> No, it saves people. Maybe some day someone runs nearly out of fuel and
> remembers this discussion, that you can't use the 9 liters of fuel
> unless you switch back to main to retrieve the sloshed over fuel.
> What't the idea of carrying around some pounds of fuel for an emergency
> if you don't know how to use it when it is really needed?
> Quite often the uninformed people get killed, people who never dare to
> explore the limits when it is safe to do so. In this case you could get
> killed because you count on having 9 liters of reserve but don't know
> that in reality you can only use 4 liters of it, unless you know how to
> deal with it properly. And that under no circumstance you should switch
> to reserve too early and try to save some fuel in main for the landing.
>
>> In 14 years of
>> Europa flight I have had no reason to go anywhere near running out
>> of fuel.
>
> Maybe some day you will have. You are facing an unpredicted head wind
> over sea with no suitable airfield for an extra fuel stop. Or you have a
> faulty gasket in your carb and the engine is suddenly running rich and
> consuming more fuel than expected, or the choosen airfield is suddenly
> closed and you have to divert and are put in a holding pattern. Are you
> going to declare a fuel emergency because you have only 20 liters of
> fuel left?
>
> Why would you fly around with all this fuel if you are so sure you will
> never have to use it? You probably tried to built your airplane as light
> as possible, and now you are spoiling it by carrying around pounds of
> useless fuel?
>
>> How is it that some guys have to tape up the filler cap ?
>> Or extract litre's of water out because it was in a shower ?
>
> What would you do, leave the water in the tank? I'm sure that "someone"
> was not amused to find the water in his tank, and I think it is fully
> understandable that he from now on tapes of his fuel cap as an extra
> precaution to prevent water ingress.
>
> How can you be sure it will hever happen to you? Unless of course you
> keep your airplane sheltered and only take it out on a sunny day for a
> trip around the home field. Are you actually hosing over your aircraft
> anually for a few hours to see whether the fuel cap is really water
> tight, or are you just assuming the cap is tight and remains that way
> for the rest of its life?
>
> I'm happy that people are willing to share their experience, even if it
> sounds "stupid" to some who think they are wiser than the rest of us.
>
> I will be giving the fuel cap some more attention, thanks Bob!
>
> Frans
>
>
>
>
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