Fuel Management

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Fuel Management
Simon Stuart
Squadron 80
San Jose, CA
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Video

• Would you fly this airline?

Courtesy AOPA
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Fuel Starvation Exhaustion
Engine Failure A condition which occurs when
all fuel tanks mysteriously become filled with
air.

• Fuel Starvation
• Engine cannot get available fuel
• Selected tank runs dry
• Contaminant blockage
• Pump failure (Esp. low wing aircraft)
• Forced landing inevitable unless prompt action
  taken.
• Usually pilot error

• Fuel Exhaustion
• All tanks dry
• Forced landing inevitable
• Almost always pilot error

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Do pilots just Forget?

• Sometimes, but frequently the cause is
• An error in preflight planning
• Lack of enroute monitoring
• Too hurried to divert and refuel
• No pilot departs anticipating an accident.

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Invulnerable Attitudes
Range Usually about 10 miles beyond the point
where all fuel tanks fill with air.
It wont happen to me.
That gauge cant be right.
This isnt happening!
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Three Accidents per Week

• Most do not show up as NTSB reports
• Databases
• NTSB http//www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/query.asp
• FAA Accident / Incident Data System (AIDS)
  http//www.asias.faa.gov/
• AOPA Fuel management Mishap Map
  http//www.aopa.org/asf/ntsb/fuelmap.cfm
• NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS)
  http//asrs.arc.nasa.gov/

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NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System
If the pilot survives the accident, you'll never
find out what really happened. Doug Jeanes

• The ASRS First hand pilot accounts
• Different from NTSB reports
• Learn from the mistakes of others
• http//asrs.arc.nasa.gov/
• Report Sets http//asrs.arc.nasa.gov/search/repor
  tsets.html
• Fuel Reports http//asrs.arc.nasa.gov/docs/rpsts/
  fuel.pdf
• Example ACN 849661. A CL65 Captain laments the
  low fuel loads that are routinely being used by
  dispatchers at his airline. Assessment Primary
  Problem Company Policy

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Determining Fuel Levels

• Traditional dipstick method
• Analog fuel gauges
• Only required to be accurate when empty
• Digital fuel gauges
• Fuel totalizers
• Accurate to 1/10th gallon
• Depends upon pilot setting after adding fuel
• Glass Cockpit (e.g. G1000) Features
• Range rings
• Annunciations

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Know Thy Airplane

• Many pilots run afoul of fuel management when
  switching
• between aircraft with different fuel systems.
• Citabria 7ECA. High wing. Gravity fed. Off/On
  selector. No fuel pump
• Cessna 182T. 13 sumps. 3 ways of confirming fuel
  levels during preflight. Totalizer accuracy
• Bonanza 35. Many variations and some complex fuel
  systems. Up to 5 tanks. Left tank venting on some
  models
• CG moves rearward. Possible landing out of CG
  envelope
• Low fuel takeoff limits, 6g unusable

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How Much Fuel Do You Need?

• FAA Regulations
• General (Part 91). E.g. Going up in Uncle Bobs
  plane
• Commuter On Demand (Part 135). E.g. Aspen Air
  Charter
• Scheduled Air Carrier (Part 121). E.g. United
  Airlines
• Non-FAA Overlays
• Airline Policy
• Civil Air Patrol Requirements. E.g. 1 hour left?
  Land and refuel.
• FAA Factors Influencing Reserves
• Day, Night, VFR, IFR, Alternates
• Other Factors To Consider
• Mountains, Water, Icing, Altitude, Headwinds,
  Traffic
• Personal Minimums
• Arguably the most important
• Developed from experience
• Create a Risk Profile for the flight

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Can You Carry Too Much Fuel?
"The only time an aircraft has too much fuel on
board is when it is on fire. Sir Charles
Kingsford Smith

• well, not always
• Additional fuel affects TAS only marginally.
• Increasing weight 440lbs to MGTW in a Mooney 201
  reduces cruise speed by around 5 knots (3).
• Additional fuel affects takeoff distances and
  rate of climb significantly.
• A Cessna 182T departing Tahoe at 65F at MGTW vs.
  400lbs lighter will require an additional 1500
  to get to 50 AGL.
• The ROC on a Mooney 201 would decrease by 50.

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AOPA Recommendations

• Flight Planning
• Know your airplane
• Give yourself an hour's reserve
• Be realistic with routing
• Check fuel availability
• Remember aircraft performance
• Note color and smell
• Let water settle
• Sump early, sump often
• Dispose of fuel properly
• Check for leaks
• Verify quantity

• In Flight
• Check groundspeed
• Lean and mean
• Switch tanks regularly
• Be prepared to divert
• Tell ATC

http//www.aopa.org/asf/hotspot/fuel_check.html
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Personal Experiences

• Rapidly venting fuel. Palo Alto. Citabria.
• Inaccurate gauge readings near the end of a 500nm
  cross country. San Jose. Cessna 182.
• Broken gauge resulting in fuel starvation on
  final. Reid-Hillview. Cessna 172.
• Over a quart of rainwater in a tank after a heavy
  overnight downpour. Oceanside. Bonanza P35.
• High fuel burn due to low altitude plus headwinds
  resulting in diversion. Los Banos. Cessna 170.
• Fortunately, all these situations ended with
  uneventful non- emergency landings. But they can
  happen to anyone.

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Notable Fuel Related Accidents

• Airlines
• United 173. DC-8. Portland
• Tuninter 1153. ATR-72. Tunisia

• Charter
• Pel-Air. Westwind. Norfolk Island

• Bay Area Aircraft
• N1857H. PA-28. Firebaugh
• N2805E. Aeronca 7BC. Half Moon Bay
• N9547D. PA-22. San Jose RHV
• N5479A. C210. San Jose RHV

• Other
• N7589S. Cessna 182. Texas
• Amelia Earhart

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Case Study N16EJ

• May 2000, Pennsylvania
• Two Professional Pilots. Captain 8,500 hours TT
• British Aerospace Jetstream 3101
• PIC fails to check fuel prior to departure
• Fuel exhaustion after cleared for the approach in
  IMC
• 19 Fatalities

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Other Suggestions

• Special diligence required for expected IMC at
  the destination airport, especially with
  alternates.
• Resist passenger pressure get-there-itis.
• CAP Aircrew Check the gauges yourself. Prior to
  departure, politely ask the Mission Pilot key
  questions. Expect concise answers. It keeps
  professionalism high.
• Sump carefully. Wait for additional fuel to
  settle. Failure to do so could easily result in a
  fatal situation on takeoff.

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Additional Insight

• AOPA Fuel Safety Advisor
• http//www.aopa.org/asf/publications/sa16.pdf
• AOPA Fuel Safety Brief
• http//www.aopa.org/asf/publications/SB04.pdf
• Pelicans Perch 7
• http//www.warmkessel.com/jr/flying/td/jd/7.jsp

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Summary

• When it comes to fuel,
• Getting it wrong
• has consequences ranging
• from embarrassing to fatal.
• Be methodical. Remain aware.
• Land if uncertain.

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• End of Presentation