Right Hand Seat – Fuel and the Doubting Thomas

One other reason that fuel tanks run dry is that the pilot has asked for the aircraft to be refuelled only to find in flight that the aircraft was not refuelled or to the quantity needed. The said pilot did not check the fuel quantity before flight. Tricks and traps for young players.

On the subject of fuel it is also worth doing a fuel drain check, not only before the first flight of the day or after refuelling but before each flight. Water and foreign matter in the fuel are not unknown.

Most aircraft fuel tanks can be checked with a dip stick. Some have an inbuilt fuel dip stick or measuring level. The Beech 36 comes to mind as an aircraft with an inbuilt measuring level as does the PA28 Warrior but then who knows what the tab level in a Warrior is? There are a few aircraft that cannot be checked because they have several tanks and one filling point. This is a case where good gauges, a known fuel starting quantity and a regularly checked fuel burn rate are vital. You get no brownie points for joining the gliding club in a fuel burning aircraft.

On the flight planning side of the equation it is said that a wise pilot is the type who plans for a higher than expected fuel burn rate and that the plan fuel is less than actual. Those two items will help to ensure that there is noise being developed by the engine at shutdown, on the destination tarmac.
From the instructing side the instructor has to instil into a student pilot at an early stage the importance of being fuel quantity wise. Fuel situational awareness. Perhaps a case of asking the student at the holding point what the flight endurance of the aircraft is.

In the fuel quantity game a pilot has to check and check again to ensure that there is enough fuel, and reserves, for the flight. Never totally take someone’s word that you have adequate fuel. Be a Doubting Thomas and double check, and while you are at it also check that the fuel caps are secure.

A Note For Instructors

Some little time back I was asked by a LAME to do a taxi approval. He wanted to get a formal approval from an instructor to taxi the aircraft that he worked on. He taxied the twin around to my satisfaction and I signed off the paperwork that he presented. Job done.

Three months later CASA contacted me to say that the LAME needed an approval for each aircraft that he wanted to taxi.

What was required was a taxi approval for each and every aircraft model that the engineer needed to taxi to the run up bay or elsewhere and that it would cost $160 for each approval!

Now what this means is that for a LAME to taxi an aircraft to the run up bay to check the machine say during or after a 100 hourly he needs to 1. Have been checked on that type by an instructor and 2. Has to pay $160 for each aircraft that he needs to taxi around. For an engineer or maintenance shop that means a lot of dollars and a lot of approvals, if an endorsed instructor is available.

So if you are an instructor and are asked to sign off on a taxi approval note the above. Could there be a better way? Cheaper and simpler? Perhaps a one off approval for piston singles and twins?

Contact Dave by email at [email protected]