Flying w/faulty gas gauge

"Ron Natalie" wrote in message
m...

"Angus Davis" wrote in message
...

Per the FARs, your gauges were functional. The only requirement is that
when the tanks are empty, the gauges read empty.

Sorry, the FARs don't say that. The FARs don't say anything about
accuracy.
The much misattributed FAR about them being empty just says that the E
mark
means zero usable.

If they show full when
the tanks are 1/4 full, that is not a problem in so far as the FARs are
concerned.

91.205 says you must have operational guages. In this case the guage is
NOT operating
the way it was designed. If the thing is really bouncing between 0 and
Full on the ground
there is something seriously wrong. Not only is it hardly legal, I'd
really question what
was going on.



Well, I'd certainly want to know why a gauge was flicking
around, but being pedantic (as I would be if called on it
by the FAA), how am I to know if my gauges are operational?

For that, I'd go to my POH for guidance. My POH tells me
that my fuel gauges should read 'red line' when there is no
fuel in the tank. It says nothing else. So I'd argue that I could
reasonably conclude my gauges were just fine if they showed
full when in actual fact they were only 1/4 full. And since
the FAR's insist I operate my plane consistently with the
POH & flight supplements, I'd claim regulatory backing for
this position.


--
Dr. Tony Cox
Citrus Controls Inc.
e-mail:
http://CitrusControls.com/