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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