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Yes! THAT's IT! AUTO GAS DID IT!


What was I thinking - couldn't be the pilot not filling the plane - It was the gas.... LOL (LOADS OF SARCASM)

That's the standard for my generation - Not my fault - blame ________ (something else)_______________....


Dave

I always measure my fuel in my plane with a dipstick that is calibrated specifically for my plane. I make sure that there is at least 10 gallons total before I leave the ground. If I have less than 10 then I get fuel no matter the cost! I'd rather be safe than sorry.

I NEVER, EVER take off without measuring my fuel, period!

Robert

I use two methods of fueling. If a short flight just in the immediate area, (An hour or less), I'll top off the right tank. Giving me at least 1.5 hours of fuel minimum. What remains in the left tank is just added buffer.

If flying cross country, both tanks are topped off. Three hours of fuel minimum. Reality being closer to 3.5 hours. Cross country flights are planned for 2.5 hours or less. Actually, closer to two hours. I am ready to strecth the legs by then.

So either one, or both, tank(s) are full when I take off. No need to physically measure what is actually in the tanks! Simple! Foolproof! Why fly with any less??

I stand corrected. It's not autogas.
If it's not autogas then it must be me.
Jim

You want to be a little careful with that premise Bill...I've seen Birdie burn 10 GPH...one time when I helped Doug take the Cherokee up into WA to B.A.S. for the inertial reel seatbelt installation. It surprised the heck outta me, so I leaned more on the follow-up trip a few weeks later but had a similar fuel burn. This was running at 2700 RPM. I've never had that rate of burn before or since. Can't explain it. BUT... 2 GPH above normal could eat up a guy's planned reserve in my case, expecting 5 hours endurence and have the tanks run dry at 4 hours.

[quote=Dan You want to be a little careful with that premise Bill...I've seen Birdie burn 10 GPH...one time when I helped Doug take the Cherokee up into WA to B.A.S. for the inertial reel seatbelt installation. It surprised the heck outta me, so I leaned more on the follow-up trip a few weeks later but had a similar fuel burn. This was running at 2700 RPM. [/quote]

Thus one of the reasons that we plan on two hour pit stops, Dan. Plus, we have been using around 65% power. That matches a 152's flight characteristics really close. (At least BW's 152!) And we are content with that. To help acheive this we also tend to head for 7'000' or higher. Mr. Ed seems to really like those higher altitudes when it comes to sipping the fuel..........

I can't recall our altitudes on that trip, but I'm thinking they were relatively low due to wx. Yeah...I averaged 5.8 GPH on last year's CWI trip and usually keep the power pulled playing around locally as well...but if I'm flying with Doug or as a lone airplane I usually shove the go-knob forward on cross country flights.

[quote=Dan You want to be a little careful with that premise Bill...I've seen Birdie burn 10 GPH...one time when I helped Doug take the Cherokee up into WA to B.A.S. for the inertial reel seatbelt installation. It surprised the heck outta me, so I leaned more on the follow-up trip a few weeks later but had a similar fuel burn. This was running at 2700 RPM. [/quote]

Thanks Dan!!

I had this happen once with 72G. Flew my Mom from North Bend to Independence once. We had 2.25 hours in flight time. The tanks took nearly 21 gallons!! Yikes!!!!

(New fuel caps apparently took care of that problem however.)

Anyways. This is one of the reasons that we plan on two hour pit stops. Plus, we have been using around 65% power. That matches a 152's flight characteristics really close. (At least BW's 152!) And we are content with that. To help acheive this we also tend to head for 7'000' or higher. Leaned out at 8,000' at 2600 RPM = 7GPH. Mr. Ed seems to really like those higher altitudes when it comes to sipping the fuel..........