In a message dated 8/16/2005 8:49:29 P.M. Central Standard Time,
don@cellarideas.com writes:
In the
initial set-up and prior to first flight the engine monitor was
never
set-up. I did that myself later and the fuel gauges were not
properly
calibrated. For that reason I NEVER flew more than 2.5-3 hours
without
topping both tanks and not flying greater than one hour unless
I could see
gas in the tank. That was an indication of half fuel. I had
fueled up
earlier in the week and logged 2.5 hours which I had entered
in my log
book Friday and prior to flying Sunday morning knew (in my
mind) I had 1.5
hour fuel on board for a less than 30 minute flight
where I intended to
top-off. I selected the right tank to fly out on
and about 20 minutes into
my flight and ten miles out reported my
position a minute or so later the
engine quit and I selected left tank,
it ran for a few moments and quit
again. Even in my glide down I never
thought I was out of gas.
I concur with those that complimented Don on his handling of his engine out
and off-airport landing - It couldn't have been better. Many will remember
that "flying the airplane" is the lesson to be learned.
There are other significant lessons:
1. Unless he had a waiver to fly to OSH, Don had at least 25 hours flown in
the test flight area without calibrating or learning about the fuel monitoring
system other than the variable rate of burn. He still didn't get the
calibration done even after the return from OSH. The lesson here is that
equipment that can supply important information should be working - As a matter
of fact, the plane may have been un-airworthy since fuel gauges are required and
must at least show "FAA empty." Do not overlook such details. BTW,
how much fuel was still in the wings?
2. He did not know how much fuel is unusable in level flight or, especially
in a descent. The lesson here is that for tanks which feed the engine
directly, one must know how much fuel will not get to the pickup when in a climb
(Vx, Vy) or, say a sustained 5 degree descent (or whatever the angle is at best
glide speed). This amount can be determined on the ground when
tilting the plane and seeing when the boost pump fails to find gas to pump -
then measure how much remains in the tank (sometimes this can be
found even before the wing is mounted on the plane by proper
jigging). Also, it is likely that if you run a tank dry in level flight
there will be no possibility of fuel availability in a descent. Assuming
the slosh doors seal completely, there still is the possibility that
persistent uncoordinated flight could lead to un-porting fuel if it is at
some unknown low level. Heaven forbid one should try to take off with low
fuel levels and have the engine stop during the climb out.
Scott Krueger
AKA Grayhawk
Lancair N92EX IO320 SB 89/96
Aurora, IL
(KARR)