Dan
Having operated for much of my 22,000 hours in remote areas and/or
hostile terrain where help was where you could find it, I made it a
point to take the time and trouble of making a calibrated stick for
each of my aircraft. I have run out of fuel a couple times in about 50
years of flying for various reasons. Fuel gages to me, are simply
indicators to assist in aircraft operations. They may or not be
accurate. In any case, when they indicate below 1/4 I get nervous and
watch my fuel burn vs time even more closely and in particular when I
am over hostile terrain.
I've experienced mechanical failures when either the gages went offline
as in an electrical failure, or I was losing fuel from a poor
connection or venting from a faulty drain. The end result was not
pleasant but no injuries to anything either. If you are not flying a
glider, you sure better know specific fuel burn for your operations and
aircraft lest you turn into a glider pilot of a lousy glider with a big
chunk of iron hanging on the nose!!
One hour of fuel remaining in the tanks at my destination usually gives
me that warm fuzzy feeling. Sometimes I never had that option or
capability. As a segue to that, GOOD navigation is a requisite skill so
you don't find yourself wondering where in hell you are or where you
are going?!
Cheers
Ol S&B