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Posted for David Jones <N295VV@aol.com>:

I agree with Jim Frantz--we are the experts here.  I am sure that everyone
responding to the post regarding our comrade, Tony, is being very attentive
to what they say, and trying to give utmost respect to Tony.

I also agree that we must discuss this sad event in order to learn from it,
even at this very early stage.

In this regard, I ask you if you actually know the useable fuel amount in
your plane?

Did you remove the fuel lines from your tanks and add fuel until it came out
of the hole, and then did you put the lines back on and fill to the top and
measure?

Was this done before you found out that filling to the cap would cause
venting of fuel, and did you remeasure to the lower fill level?

I will bet you didn't.

I bet you don't have the faintest idea of what your tanks now hold.

If you plan your flights to use fuel down to 5 gal remaining, you are going to discover some day what the actual useable is on your plane, and the elevation that this occurs at will not make you happy.

When I was instructed on my first flights, we did a simulated engine-out at
pattern altitude.

The LIV dropped like a rock.  Picking a clear spot to land was no option.  A
five second delay in performing all of the needed maneuvers and tasks means
the difference between life and death.

I think of that every time my plane gets below the 1/4 tank level.  I hate to
fly on lower amounts of fuel.

I wonder if ATP rated pilots are more susceptible to relying on old habits,
where they plan their flights for their very sophisticated airplanes down to
the last detail, including using the highest figure for "useable gas", which
can be measured to the ounce?

That is certainly OK, but only if  "useable gas" is useable.  Remember,  that
measurement could have been made before we discovered that filling our tanks
to the top would cause several gallons to vent onto the ground....

David Jones

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