X-Virus-Scanned: clean according to Sophos on Logan.com Return-Path: Sender: To: lml@lancaironline.net Date: Wed, 06 Jan 2010 08:16:29 -0500 Message-ID: X-Original-Return-Path: Received: from imr-da04.mx.aol.com ([205.188.105.146] verified) by logan.com (CommuniGate Pro SMTP 5.3.0) with ESMTP id 4066067 for lml@lancaironline.net; Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:35:46 -0500 Received-SPF: pass receiver=logan.com; client-ip=205.188.105.146; envelope-from=VTAILJEFF@aol.com Received: from imo-da04.mx.aol.com (imo-da04.mx.aol.com [205.188.169.202]) by imr-da04.mx.aol.com (8.14.1/8.14.1) with ESMTP id o064Z5rp011047 for ; Tue, 5 Jan 2010 23:35:05 -0500 Received: from VTAILJEFF@aol.com by imo-da04.mx.aol.com (mail_out_v42.5.) id q.d27.49752f07 (43977) for ; Tue, 5 Jan 2010 23:35:02 -0500 (EST) Received: from smtprly-de02.mx.aol.com (smtprly-de02.mx.aol.com [205.188.249.169]) by cia-dd04.mx.aol.com (v127.7) with ESMTP id MAILCIADD042-b2374b4412ed343; Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:34:59 -0500 Received: from webmail-stg-d15 (webmail-stg-d15.sim.aol.com [205.188.185.231]) by smtprly-de02.mx.aol.com (v127.7) with ESMTP id MAILSMTPRLYDE024-b2374b4412ed343; Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:34:53 -0500 References: X-Original-To: lml@lancaironline.net Subject: Re: 2009 Lancair Accidents factoids X-Original-Date: Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:34:53 -0500 X-AOL-IP: 24.107.70.141 In-Reply-To: X-MB-Message-Source: WebUI MIME-Version: 1.0 From: vtailjeff@aol.com X-MB-Message-Type: User Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="--------MB_8CC5CA0B99F2FFB_29F8_2FA70_webmail-stg-d15.sysops.aol.com" X-Mailer: AOL Webmail 30272-STANDARD Received: from 24.107.70.141 by webmail-stg-d15.sysops.aol.com (205.188.185.231) with HTTP (WebMailUI); Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:34:53 -0500 X-Original-Message-Id: <8CC5CA0B9934911-29F8-1791B@webmail-stg-d15.sysops.aol.com> X-Spam-Flag:NO X-AOL-SENDER: VTAILJEFF@aol.com ----------MB_8CC5CA0B99F2FFB_29F8_2FA70_webmail-stg-d15.sysops.aol.com Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Interesting fact: 9 serious (four fatal with 7 fatalities) Lancair acciden= ts last year. This is down from 20 accidents (12 fatal with 21 fatalities)= in 2008. Not a single serious accident in 2009 involved a LOBO member. Th= is parallels COPA's membership accident statistics as well. Keep it up! Jeff Edwards President, LOBO -----Original Message----- From: Robert Mitchell To: lml@lancaironline.net Sent: Tue, Jan 5, 2010 10:19 pm Subject: [LML] Re: Fuel Planning Some random experiences in Fuel (mis)management. =20 Gotcha #1. Left Madison, Wisc, minetes ahead of a rapid moving cold front= in a C-180 ambhibian. Full tanks, checked cover on old style fuel tank= - appeared on (the wing is 12+ feet in the air) so didn't crawel the ladd= er! On way to Midway airport, swithched tanks over what is now Tri-State= expressway. Tank # 2 empty because cap loose under the old style cover.= Landed without incident on the Tri-state (prior to concrete being laid.) =20 Gotcha #2. In a T-6. Three hours Fuel in two tanks, switching tanks ever= y 1/2 hour. Made fuel selector swith twice without problem, on third swit= ch attempt the selector handle broke off. Now unable to fly on fuller tan= k, so diverted to alternate airport and landed. No passenger in back seat= as there is a second selector there. Henceforth carried a vicegrip as do= about 1/3 of the knowledgeable T-6 pilots. =20 Gotcha #3. In a twin comanche with tip tanks. Heated hangar in N. Wisc.= Drained during preflight a small amount of fuel from the twins peculiar= low point central drain. Left for Florida, with full mains, full aux and= full tips. My proceedure is to taxi out on the mains, switch to aux for= run up then back to mains for take off. Uneventfull cruise at 8500'. Fu= ll aux and tips showing on the gauges. At cruise I swith to left Aux tank,= engine quites, back to main everything ok. Same with rt engine. Analysi= s frozen water in both aux tanks. After landing and over night in heated= hanger drain over a gallon of water from sump. A/c always hangared! =20 Gotcha#4. I was checking out a CFI in a tailwheel Aeronca Champ, 85hp it= had a fuel system not unlike a Lnc-2. Header tank, 2 wing tanks that grav= ity feed to the header. The CFI "student" checks the fuel. " half full= header, half full wing aux tanks". We were only going to do touch and go= es in Sedona, AZ. After 2-3 landings we turned on the aux which drains in= to the mains so as to continue circuits and the 4th landing was "dead stic= k".=20 =20 Moral of the story(s), is that; when possible I fly on the top half of the= tanks and enjoy the luxury of capacitance gauges, fuel flow/totalizers an= d hopefully no more GOTCHA'S.=20 =20 Bob Mitchell L320 =20 Subject: [LML] Re: Fuel Planning I rely heavily on the fuel totalizer in the Velocity. On refueling, it is= invariably accurate to within a gallon on a 30-70 gallon burn, but there= is one scenario where reliance on the totalizer can leave you in the lurc= h, and a bad one at that. If a leak develops upstream of the fuel totaliz= er sensor, or you leave a fuel cap off, you can be draining or vacuuming= a large fraction of your fuel overboard, but the fuel totalizer does not= recognize this loss, nor will you, if you rely only on the totalizer. =20 =20 Accordingly, we need a means of sensing, or directing reading of, the fuel= left in the tank(s) to know that we haven't had an unexpected loss and th= at we can rely on the fuel totalizer. Chuck Jensen=20 =20 ----------MB_8CC5CA0B99F2FFB_29F8_2FA70_webmail-stg-d15.sysops.aol.com Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii"

Interesting fact: 9 serious (four fatal with 7 fatalities) Lancair acciden= ts last year. This is down from 20 accidents (12 fatal with 21 fatali= ties) in 2008. Not a single serious accident in 2009 involved a LOBO membe= r. This parallels COPA's membership accident statistics as well. Keep it= up!
 
Jeff Edwards
President, LOBO


-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Mitchell <rmitch1@hughes.net>
To: lml@lancaironline.net
Sent: Tue, Jan 5, 2010 10:19 pm
Subject: [LML] Re: Fuel Planning

Some random= experiences in Fuel (mis)management.
 =
Gotcha #1.  Left Madison, Wisc, minetes ah= ead of a rapid moving cold front in a C-180 ambhibian.  Full tanks,= checked cover on old style fuel tank - appeared on (the wing is 12+ feet= in the air) so didn't crawel the ladder!  On way to Midway airport,= swithched tanks over what is now Tri-State expressway.  Tank # 2 emp= ty because cap loose under the old style cover.  Landed without incid= ent on the Tri-state (prior to concrete being laid.)
 =
Gotcha #2.&nb= sp; In a T-6.  Three hours Fuel in two tanks, switching tanks every= 1/2 hour.  Made fuel selector swith twice without problem, on third= switch attempt the selector handle broke off.  Now unable to fly on= fuller tank, so diverted to alternate airport and landed.  No passen= ger in back seat as there is a second selector there.  Henceforth car= ried a vicegrip as do about 1/3 of the knowledgeable T-6 pilots.
 =
Gotcha #3.&nb= sp; In a twin comanche with tip tanks.  Heated hangar in N. Wisc.&nbs= p; Drained during preflight a small amount of fuel from the twins peculiar= low point central drain.  Left for Florida, with full mains, full au= x and full tips. My proceedure is to taxi out on the mains, switch to= aux for run up then back to mains for take off.  Uneventfull cruise= at 8500'.  Full aux and tips showing on the gauges. At cruise I swit= h to left Aux tank, engine quites, back to main everything ok.  Same= with rt engine.  Analysis frozen water in both aux tanks.  Afte= r landing and over night in heated hanger drain over a gallon of water fro= m sump.  A/c always hangared!
 =
Gotcha#4.&nbs= p;I was checking out a CFI in a tailwheel Aeronca Champ, 85hp it had a fue= l system not unlike a Lnc-2. Header tank, 2 wing tanks that gravity feed= to the header.  The CFI "student" checks the fuel.  " half full= header, half full wing aux tanks".  We were only going to do touch= and goes in Sedona, AZ.  After 2-3 landings we turned on the au= x which drains into the mains so as to continue circuits and the 4th= landing was "dead stick". 
 =
Moral of the= story(s), is that; when possible I fly on the top half of the tanks and= enjoy the luxury of capacitance gauges, fuel flow/totalizers and hopefull= y no more GOTCHA'S.
 =
Bob Mitchell<= /SPAN>
L320
 =


Subject: [LML] Re: Fuel Planning

I rely heavily on the fuel totalizer= in the Velocity.  On refueling, it is invariably accurate to within= a gallon on a 30-70 gallon burn, but there is one scenario where rel= iance on the totalizer can leave you in the lurch, and a bad one at that.&= nbsp; If a leak develops upstream of the fuel totalizer sensor, or you lea= ve a fuel cap off, you can be draining or vacuuming a large fraction of yo= ur fuel overboard, but the fuel totalizer does not recognize this loss, no= r will you, if you rely only on the totalizer. 
 
Accordingly, we need a means of sens= ing, or directing reading of, the fuel left in the tank(s) to know that we= haven't had an unexpected loss and that we can rely on the fuel totalizer= .

Chuck Jensen
 
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