Fuel Management Made Easy

hey it looks like we're gonna need to get to gas okay now you can go well below he before a single quit will makes it to the airport [Music] ah your little low on fuel here too now we'll be okay she was car with personal growth liens on an exam okay time out you're saying to yourself I would never do this and hopefully you wouldn't but some do according to the gnaw report there are about 70 fuel management accidents each year managing fuel in an airplane seems like a no-brainer to fly from point A to point B you need to bring enough gas in your tanks seem simple enough but why do fuel management errors continue to happen let's take a closer look at some common problem areas [Music] on average more than 60% of fuel related accidents are attributed to poor flight planning more specifically inaccurate estimation of fuel requirements personal minimums are one way to combat this they act as your safety net a boundary you've set for yourself where you say I'm going to make sure I don't go beyond that point for example the regulations provide a minimal margin of safety while the air safety Institute recommends landing with at least one hour of fuel on board for every flight you can approach the flight planning process with your personal minimums in mind for many of us using an online flight planner or mobile app is an indispensable part of our flight planning routine one example is AO PA flight planner which includes predictive fuel planning tools and warnings that show approximately how much fuel you will have burned at certain points along your route with the ability to see the time you have left before needing to refuel you can choose your fuel stops along the way whatever tool you're using when it comes to fuel it's always better to plan conservatively commit yourself to landing at a predetermined fuel stop at or before the point where you will have reached your personal minimum during flight planning you should also take into account the winds aloft and any weather that could potentially alter your route if it becomes necessary to divert your flight to avoid thunderstorms you will need enough fuel to reach an alternate Airport you may already do thorough flight planning before a long cross-country trip but what about those short flights to the practice area or a nearby airport is fuel planning really worth the hassle [Music] the purpose of this flight was to get fuel from a nearby airport the pilot did not do a pre-flight inspection telling his passengers that he had enough fuel for the 5 min of flight shortly after taking off and on the downwind leg of the traffic pattern the engine lost power the pilot tried to make a forced landing on the runway but the airplane hit the ground short of the runway which caused substantial damage even if you know you have enough fuel to make a quick flight there are other factors to consider you should always plan for unexpected circumstances that can keep you aloft longer than you had hoped such as a delay in landing clearance due to congested airspace landing gear problems or a disabled aircraft causing an unexpected airport closure it helps to begin with a known quantity of fuel before your departure let's face it fuel gauges and GA airplanes are notoriously inaccurate what the regulations require in accuracy is the source of some debate but ultimately it's best to not depend solely on your gauges the solution for this is simple to minimize any uncertainty consider having the tanks topped off before every flight unless you're absolutely restricted by weight from passengers in cargo also when refuelling make sure you know what type of fuel you are getting if you suspect you may have an accidental mixture of AB gas and jet fuel it will be nearly impossible to tell just by looking 100 low lead and jet a mix together will still appear blue and once the two fuels blend they do not separate here are a couple of ways to tell the difference jet fuel has an odor similar to kerosene if you notice this odor when opening the gas cap or draining samples you may have contamination you can also perform the napkin test blot a sample of your fuel onto a paper napkin if it's pure 100 low lead the sample will dry quickly with no visible residue if it's a mixture of 100 low lead and jet a the sample will leave an oily sheen and it won't evaporate quickly make sure to be present when your aircraft is being fueled and to double-check your receipt to make sure you got the right fuel in the right amount you can also use a OPA fuel cards to help prevent miss fueling during pre-flight make sure to visually check the level of fuel in your tanks there is no substitute for this fuel gauges can and have failed so a visual fuel check is crucial you may want to use a calibrated dipstick for increased accuracy before departing the pilot asked his local FBO to fill his main fuel tanks unknown to the pilot the airplane was never fueled the pilot assumed the fuelling had happened and did not check the fuel quantity before taking off while in cruising flight both engines experienced partial power loss the pilot made of forced landing in an open field with rough terrain which caused major damage to the wings and fuselage something your fuel is another critical step and one in which it's far too easy to just go through the motions without being observant and while you might expect that you're in good shape as long as you don't see layers of fuel and water consider the possibility that you may be seeing only water make sure you see the tell-tale blue color before making any assumptions check for any small particulate matter as well you should begin your flight with a key understanding an engine is basically a pump it consumes a mixture of fuel and air at a very predictable rate with this in mind it's crucial to think of your fuel supply in terms of hours and minutes not in miles put another way a flight and a strong headwind compared to the same flight with no end will cover fewer miles in the same amount of time and fuel at the beginning of every flight it's a good idea to set a timer or use the panel clock to monitor your time aloft if your plane has a fuel selector we're switching tanks is required another good technique is to set a reminder to switch tanks at regular intervals this keeps your fuel levels even and helps you manage your remaining fuel a commercial pilot flying a Cessna 152 heading to his home in Georgia experienced a total loss of engine power after about three and a half hours of flying the pilot made a forced landing to a road and struck a telephone pole with the left wing damaging the airplane and causing serious injuries to the pilot and passenger as part of the pilots pre-flight planning he had looked at the weather along the route of flight which included a 20 knot headwind the pilot said that he visually checked the fuel tanks before departure and verified that they were full with a total of 26 gallons his fuel receipts also confirmed that the airplane was refueled before the trip the pilot said he had enough fuel on board for the 275 nautical mile flight the Poh stated that the airplane had about 3.1 hours of fuel endurance and cruise power the engine ran out of fuel after about 3.5 hours don't forget to lean the mixture once you reach cruising altitude not only are you saving fuel but the Poh assumes that proper leaning has taken place when giving estimates for fuel burn again avoid relying solely on your fuel gauges they may be inaccurate Digital fuel monitors can be very precise but most of them depend on the pilots accurate input of the amounts loaded another factor that can contribute to accidents is having bad fuel management habits like our reckless friend we may have some unconscious behaviors that are reinforced by our daily driving if we let ourselves carry those daily behaviors into the cockpit we could be in for trouble also this is a good time to remember that many pilots have gotten themselves in trouble by good old-fashioned get their itis the feeling of wanting to push on a little longer or the perceived hassle of landing to get fuel before reaching your final destination can be dangerous it's a common state of mind that affects even helicopter pilots helicopters known for their ability to land almost anywhere have crashed due to fuel exhaustion a CFI and student were on a night VFR cross-country flight in a helicopter while flying over one of the airports along their way the CFI and student notice they had low fuel during pre-flight planning the CFI had overestimated the cruising speed of the helicopter and so the total flight time turned out to be longer than they expected the CFI and student discussed the low fuel situation and despite being over an airport decided to not refuel because neither pilot had a credit card shortly afterward the low fuel warning light came on and a few minutes later the engine lost total power the pilot performed an auto rotation but the helicopter impacted trees and landed hard the helicopter was badly damaged so be aware of the temptation to keep flying with known low fuel and resist the urge to press on beyond your comfort zone the consequences can be much worse than arriving at your destination a bit later than expected let's look at one additional area that can cause problems errors and operating the aircraft's fuel system caused about one third of fuel management accidents these errors include things like choosing an empty tank or incorrectly using boost pumps or transfer pumps you can combat this by being well versed in the operation of your fuel system this is especially true when flying an unfamiliar aircraft read the poh thoroughly and know the transfer process if you accidentally let it tank run dry a rushed attempt to switch tanks can leave room for mistakes and ultimately starve the engine of fuel always monitoring the clock or setting a timer to switch tanks early can put you ahead of the game many of the strategies and ideas we presented aren't difficult to understand but they can be easy to overlook like most aspects of flying fuel management takes a bit of forethought and careful planning recognising that common causes of fuel management accidents and following these tips will help you to get to your destination safely every time you fly [Music]

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Views: 128,570

Rating: 4.9648147 out of 5

Keywords: fuel, airplane, fuel management, fuel safety, avgas, jet fuel, 100LL, airport, pilot, safety, risk management, decision making, flight plan, vfr, flight safety, air traffic control, safety tips, flight training, aviation safety, general aviation, fuel contamination, misfueling

Id: cJrn3QO89Dc

Length: 12min 40sec (760 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 20 2017