Due to responses on and off list, pro and con, let me elaborate a little more.


Condensation is a  very valid issue. 

 I've had my 360 for 13 years now and only found any water in the tanks one time.  That time there was a lot of water. - about a cup full.  I must have parked a fuel cap under a leak in the roof or something......

By sumping the tanks before flight - that problem is of little concern to me.

I have a header tank as well as both wet wings.  43 gal total.  My fuel gage in the header and my fuel computer both have worked very reliably.

Should both transfer pumps fail, I might have only half a header or 6 gal available.  That would be 45 minutes or 135 miles or so to get back down.   There are times I have felt the need to keep the header closer to full.

Having a fuel valve fail at a critical time is something that could happen with full tanks also.  I do see the point that it improves the situation though.  (even on a short local flight) 

My weight is under 1200 lbs empty.  Full fuel is over  20% of that and makes a big impact on performance.


Back to the question.  A 30 minute flight is only 10% of my fuel capacity.  Lets say I go with half tanks.  My wings start to show visible fuel at about half full.  I'm saying I will be safer that way than with full tanks.  I can go and return with 1.5 hours reserve.  I could go and return again and still have minimal reserves.  The 125 lbs of fuel not in the tanks is more than 10% of my empty weight and makes a very noticeable difference.

The advantages are many.  There is less wear and tear on all load bearing parts of the plane. (wheels, brakes, struts, etc) Ground performance is dramatically improved such as takeoff, abort or should you have to dodge anything on the runway. (deer, goose, Cessna, etc)  Takeoff and landing speed is also reduced and possibly the chance of shimmy.

Climb performance is much better - over obstacles, etc.. Cruise speed will be higher.  Maneuverability in the air is better - should you have to dodge that goose or Cessna.
It will roll faster and when you pull  g's it won't strain the structure as much.  Also less strain (or chance of overstress) from sudden turbulence.  There will be alittle more room between traffic pattern speed and stall speed.    In the event of engine failure, glide speed  will be lower and a crash landing more survivable.

Less I forget,  hauling extra weight around costs extra fuel to do it with.

This all together makes an obvious case to me. I just can't see advantages to 4+ hours of reserves.



Happy new year



Mark Ravinski