"John Theune" wrote

Jim;
I'm not sure where you googled a fuel cap of 64 gallons for a m20A.

Well, if it was on the internet, it must be right, correct? g

The site I was at was definitely talking about the m20a, and as I recall, it
was 112 liters per side, useable. That worked out to 64 gallons. If that
does not figure, my memory about the liters was wrong.

The specs I found were 35 stand and 52 extended range or another site that
said 48 gallons, which agrees with what I had thought. 75% cruise is 156
knots so it would seem that the flight would have been well within range.
As I recall from the ntsb report the pilot said he had 49 usable on board
at takeoff which would match with the full fuel numbers. I don't recall
what the winds aloft where on the flight but it would seem reasonable that
the flight should have been doable. Also the flight departed around 1300
and ended at 1720 which is 4:20 by my math. ( I know you did not supply
the 5:20 number )

I would be surprised if your site was right, only based on the fact that
Moonies usually have very long legs; usually somewhere at least around 750NM
with reserves.

Who knows, and really, at this point, who cares. The pilot should have know
what his time aloft with reserves was, and landed *before* the fan stopped,
when the timer reached zero and the fuel was all gone.
--
Jim in NC