Bad fuel gauges?

Hi,

In article ,
William wrote:

That's how I'm being taught.

And if you've left the fuel cap off in your pre flight, and your fuel has
gradually been ****ing all over the wing, how will you know?

Andy

On Feb 23, 7:10*pm, "Bob Gardner" wrote:
The best fuel gauge is a watch.

The best fuel gauge is a watch IN CONJUNCTION with an actual fuel
gauge. Neither suffices by itself.

On Feb 23, 7:03*pm, "Bob Gardner" wrote:
Look at the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, too.

Wow, that's depressing. Whoever wrote the handbook apparently couldn't
be bothered to read the regulations before writing about them.

CJ, have you tried to get the FAA to correct their handbook? It's hard
to overcome this nonsense while the FAA is actively recycling it.


FUEL GAUGES

The fuel quantity gauges indicate the amount of fuel measured by a sensing
unit in each fuel tank and is displayed in gallons or pounds. Aircraft
certification rules only require accuracy in fuel gauges when they read
"empty." Any reading other than "empty" should be verified. Do not depend
solely on the accuracy of the fuel quantity gauges. Always visually check
the fuel level in each tank during the preflight inspection, and then
compare it with the corresponding fuel quantity indication.

Bob Gardner

wrote in message

...



There's an urban legend that the fuel gauge is only required to be
correct for an empty tank. The legend apparently arises from a
bizarre
misreading of 23.1337b1. What 23.1337b1 actually says is just
clarifying that the 'empty' reading must correspond to zero USABLE
fuel, as opposed to zero TOTAL fuel. There is nothing whatsoever to
suggest that non-empty readings needn't be correct--that would be
absurd. (If it were true, a gauge that ALWAYS says 'empty' would be
legal! You could just write 'empty' on a piece of paper and call that
your fuel gauge!)

The requirement for indications of a tank's fuel level (not just on
empty) is stated in 91.205b9, 23.1305a1, and 23.1337b.

Thank you!

What you say makes perfect sense. I'll go look at the regs too.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

On Feb 23, 7:49*pm, Andy Hawkins wrote:
Hi,

In article ,
* * * * * *William wrote:

That's how I'm being taught.

And if you've left the fuel cap off in your pre flight, and your fuel has
gradually been ****ing all over the wing, how will you know?

Andy

I was taught to use that method to cross check with the gauge.

Wil

On Feb 23, 8:23*pm, William Hung wrote:
On Feb 23, 7:49*pm, Andy Hawkins wrote:
In article ,
* * * * * *William wrote:
And if you've left the fuel cap off in your pre flight, and your fuel has
gradually been ****ing all over the wing, how will you know?

I was taught to use that method to cross check with the gauge.

Wil

Yup, that's absolutely the way to do it.

The half that's wrong is that the admonition ignores a vital
possibility: the gauges may show way LESS fuel than you expect. (Say
you're supposed to have 3/4 of a tank left, but the gauge shows 1/8.)
In that case (if the gauges are working well enough to meet the
airworthiness requirements) you know you've got a problem--perhaps a
fuel leak, which your consumption calculations can't warn you about
without the gauges. A leak may be a very infrequent event, but
aviation safety is about being prepared for unlikely problems, rather
than unnecessarily relying on the gamble that it will never happen to
you.

Very good point.

A fuel guage rapidly dropping toward E would cause me to go for the
closest airport (hopefully with gas -- but I wouldn't insist on that!).

If an airplane does not have accurate fuel gauges then it is not
airworthy. Knowingly climbing into an aircraft that you know has
inaccurate fuel gauges is both dangerous and illegal. That is why you
check them during preflight. From FAR 91.205:

Horse****.




(a) General. Except as provided in paragraphs (c)(3) and (e) of this
section, no person may operate a powered civil aircraft with a standard
category U.S. airworthiness certificate

...
(9) Fuel gauge indicating the quantity of fuel in each tank.


To what precision and accuracy and where defined? More than half but less
than full? More than empty but less than a gallon? More than ten gallons
and less than 11? Cite accuracy regs, please.

Jim

Gee, the world famous aviator is now telling us that the FAA doesn't know
what it is talking about when it writes documents.

Idiot. Get a little real world sense. Whoever wrote the handbook has
dozens of years, thousands of hours, and an understanding of how the world
works.

Rod Machado has not made an error of fact or interpretation as long as I've
known him, and that was probably while you were still in liquid form.

Jim


Look at the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, too.

Wow, that's depressing. Whoever wrote the handbook apparently couldn't
be bothered to read the regulations before writing about them.

CJ, have you tried to get the FAA to correct their handbook? It's hard
to overcome this nonsense while the FAA is actively recycling it.

There is this big blue cloud coming off your flaps and the gas gauge,
admittedly a piece of crap, will SUDDENLY go from full to empty.

Jim


And if you've left the fuel cap off in your pre flight, and your fuel has
gradually been ****ing all over the wing, how will you know?

Andy

On Feb 23, 9:47*pm, "RST Engineering" wrote:
Gee, the world famous aviator is now telling us that the FAA doesn't know
what it is talking about when it writes documents.

Idiot. *Get a little real world sense. *Whoever wrote the handbook has
dozens of years, thousands of hours, and an understanding of how the world
works.

Rod Machado has not made an error of fact or interpretation as long as I've
known him, and that was probably while you were still in liquid form.

People who have truth on their side don't need to resort to insults,
name-calling, bullying, and appeals to authority. They explain their
reasoning instead.

Until you came along, this was an interesting, civil discussion in
which people who disagreed were genuinely trying to understand the
reasons for the differences in their points of view.

But you just want to have a brawl. Sorry, not interested.


Jim

Look at the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, too.

Wow, that's depressing. Whoever wrote the handbook apparently couldn't
be bothered to read the regulations before writing about them.

CJ, have you tried to get the FAA to correct their handbook? It's hard
to overcome this nonsense while the FAA is actively recycling it.