On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 19:25:45 +0000, George Patterson wrote:

Greg Copeland wrote:

How many run their tank(s) dry as part of their fuel management
strategy? If you don't run dry, why not? Aside from the heat beat
skipping which is sure to follow the first couple of times, what's the
down side to this strategy?

I do not. The examiner for my PPC recommended a variation of this -- he
said to switch tanks every half an hour. He said "When the tank you're
on runs dry, you'll know exactly how much is left in the other tank."
Well, I wasn't going to argue with him, but what if it runs dry two
minutes after you switched? You'd better be on final approach.

Doesn't sound like that's a winning strategy for night VFR either. Seems
like a 45-minute to an hour switch would be better.


As for the down side to this strategy, that's what killed Will Rogers
and Willie Post. Willie used to fly on one tank until it ran dry and
then switch to the next. The tank he was on ran dry a few hundred feet
up on takeoff.


On take off? Doesn't that mean the PIC failed to properly fuel the plane
rather than invalidate the strategy? How was that not pilot error, pure
and simple?


George Patterson

Greg