The Most Embarrassing way to Crash an Airplane - Thoughts on Fuel Exhaustion
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 พ.ย. 2017
- Season 3, Episode 16
For as much as us pilots put ourselves down when our landing wasn't as perfect as you wanted it to be, we seldom congratulate ourselves on the little things. Deciding not to go flying when it's too windy, not taking that extra bag because it's too heavy, or not flying to that further airport because it's too far. These are the little choices that a good pilot makes to keep them and their passengers safe. Let's celebrate those little accomplishments, but first, look at some of the pitfalls of fuel exhaustion.
Hey, did you guys know that the FAA actually certifies flight instructors to tell you everything that I try to convey in these videos? You should definitely talk to one of them instead of trusting some video you found on the internet, because who am I to tell you how to fly? I'm just a pilot sharing my experiences with the world, and these videos are not meant to be instructional or advisory in any respect.
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There is nothing more embarrassing than crashing due to fuel exhaustion, especially if you are killed. The best thing to do to avoid this is to make sure your fuel is well rested before each flight.
Wasn't expecting that one! XD
Yeah, for a non native speaker fuel exhaustion sounds weird. My first guess would have been "to run out of fuel" and the video proved me right yet it still sounds a bit weird to me.
Why would you crash if the engine quits? A forced landing ok, but why a crash unless you are over a city or forest?
I love my fuel totalizer fed by a fuel flow sensor. No guess work. Of course it won't stop you from running out of gas. I just couldn't stand depending on those hoakey floats.
Fuel starvation is when the fuel isn’t well fed.
Yes, don't be Fuelish.
ooooomg XD
Can you teach me the ways of the aviation pun? Or should I just wing it?
I'll give you props for trying.
Wait. Wait. Props! XD
You need a 'flare' for it...
I came to see a "funny" plane crash (was lost on yt) and left with a great explanation on how to manage fuel in planes. Thanks for that great video !
"The only time you have too much fuel is when you' re on fire ..."
Actually even when on fire more fuel is better. If your tanks are full then there's less room for oxygen and it reduces the risk of explosion. When you have less fuel, and there's a lot of oxygen and vapors in the tank, then all it needs to blow up is those vapors and oxygen.
I saw an experiment once where an electric match was ignited inside multiple cars with different fuel levels, and the less fuel in the tanks, the larger the explosion was. And the largest explosion was the empty tank, which had just vapors and the most oxygen.
Or too heavy... Always stick your tanks to know how much you have.
Depends on weight and passengers weight.
@@calebbyers i never knew that thanks for the knowledge
The best is to have a fuel computer that measure the fuel used by the engine in the carburetor fuel intake, and subtract the fuel that return by the return line. Them are expensive, but is the most accurate way of knowing your fuel all the time, also usually have fuel imbalance alarms that tells you to change tank.
"Guy's coming back with a paper cup..."
Paper cup: Lands.
Me: Oh, Piper Cub.
I heard the same thing... then I saw a Piper Cub landing... and said ahhhhhhh
Love you bro 2 years ago I was watching, got my pilot's license let it lapse working man now keep on flying the friendly Skies!
If my flight fueling habits were anything like my car fueling habits, I'd probably often be in trouble.
Ditto! XD
Ditto ditto!
Hahaha, as would I, but not in trouble of running out, rather in trouble of being above MTOW lol, I am so paranoid when it comes to fuel in the car lol.
Yep I usually refill when I dip below 3/4 a tank!
Yeah, same here, I always worry if I let it get lower and hit bad traffic I could be in trouble.
Always carry as much as possible. I like the Piper Hershey wing with the inner tabs that marked 18 gals. Another thing it made was a measured stick easily made for your plane. Start with an empty tank put the unmarked stick in for every 2 gallons stick it then mark it, put another 2 gallon repeat till filled. Now I filed those marks and permanent marketed the filed line. Done. Safe flying out there!
Try not to laugh
Idk what the "try not to laugh" comment is about". He built a calibrated fuel stick, which is one of the most fail safe ways to measure fuel. I trust that over a gauge in the cockpit any day.
Awesome explanation! The graphics were really great too! And thanks for touching up on the fuel thing, I never really give it much thought because I sometimes just assume my instructor has it ready to go; (he always does but I should still get in the habit of checking every time.)
I think that's the way the majority lives, which is why this was important to me. Glad you enjoyed :)
When it's 5C and raining and you just want to get in the air and unbeknownst to you the plane developed a valve seal leak on the last leg and you're down two quarts, the only thing that will save you is the force of habit developed now that you never, ever, leave the ground without first checking the gas and oil levels yourself.
Never ever just "trust" that your aircraft is all set to go -- that's what a TOTAL pre-flight is for, including checking the fuel!
Get into the habit of always checking the fuel level yourself. I always start a long flight (>1 hr) with full tanks. Nobody ever crashed from having too much fuel onboard.
I called 911 why didn't I get my cookies?
Excellent visual of the sender vs. gauge reading! As an auto mechanic, that was spot on, and a great visual learning tool! No idea how you pulled that off while editing - WELL DONE!
Watching over here about 12 miles West of ORH. I've probably seen you fly right over my house without even realizing it. I look at every aircraft that comes by, and there's quite a few! We're right in the approach path for Jet Blue, and other private jets on some days. :) I see alot of trainers come directly over my house - can always hear the distinct pitch change of the engine.
Aviation has become my new TH-cam addiction. Someday I hope get my pilot's license and make it a reality. Would love to get a light sport aircraft capable of taking off & landing in my yard here. I'm dreaming, but maybe someday I can make it happen. Part of my new 10 year plan. :)
Thanks for the great vids, neighbor!
I guarantee I've flown over your house almost weekly! Glad you're enjoying the videos, and I personally think that anyone who is ambitious and plans, can achieve anything, so good luck! Email me when you buy that plane someday :)
Well I've probably stared at you each time as you flew over, lol. :D
I've been seeing groups of 2 - 4 planes coming over here lately on the weekends. Looks like alot of fun! Was wishing I was up there with them.
Thanks man, and will do if I can make this happen. :)
Ever fly just using flight time, acting as if you don't have a working fuel gauge (or no fuel gauge at all)
Rexford L Personally I dont even pay attention to fuel levels when I fly or flight time, I just wing it (no pun intended), if I run outta fuel I just do a soft field landing.
Paying attention to fuel level is for weak people, real men know how much fuel is left just by the feel of the aircraft on takeoff
Good to see the full intro back
I missed it too :)
One great way these planes can give you a fun surprise - is if one of your tanks or bladders springs a leak on you. I was coming back to MD from GA in my cherokee and noticed that I was burning an unusually high amount of fuel (right tank gauge was going down very slowly even though I was on the left tank). When I landed I noticed the green/blue stains under the wing. The leak was probably there all along and I just never noticed because I rarely take trips that long, so I hardly ever fill the tanks past the tabs. I suspect the leak was in one of the upper tank rivets - or somewhere near the top of the tank.
Now I understand why the Arrow III has "unusable" fuel. Excellent video and explanation of fuel stuff.
Glad you learned something :)
Even airliners have unusable fuel. :)
I love this channel. Great work as always, Nick!
Thanks, mate! I'm worried today's simulator video is going to be a flop, so let me know what you think :P
You've got nothing to worry about! Can't wait to see it!
I have everything to worry about!!! *panics*
This was a fantastic video. The on screen graphics were particularly helpful (and clever). Nice one!
"If oil is an airplane's lifeblood, then fuel is its coffee."
Can't tell you how many long nights in college were fueled on coffee lol
I drink kerosene to stay awake.
@@MentalParadoxcan you tell me where I can undergo the conversion? Asking for a friend
I read somewhere about a trick for switching tanks. If you have an analogue clock or watch, right hand tank when the minute hand is on the right side of the clock face i.e. between 12 and 6. Left hand tank when the hand is on the left, 6 to 12. Of course you need to remember to look at the clock of your watch .
Kev Setting your phone alarm to go off every 30 minutes on vibrate, volume on high and obnoxious flashing screen display works pretty well too. ;)
14000TT and that's how I've always done it. Left tank on the left side of the hour and visa versa.
Great video Nick ! Thanks for sharing your experience with us. We must never forget to perform a good fuel planning and managing whenever we fly ! Have fun and fly safe, kind regards from santiago de chile !
Thanks, mate! :D
When you're empty at 8500, on-top, and VFR, it doesn't matter why. Not my first stupid mistake, but like all of them I learned an important lesson. In this case, a rough, short farm field landing which I flew out of 5 hours latter. Also, attempting to follow instructions, utilizing flaps and holding the nose up to avoid holes, I nearly ran out of field on take-off. Two lessons for the price of one incident!
The 3 most useless things in aviation - runway behind you, air above you and fuel in the truck on the ground.
Back in the day in flight school we used a hi-tech device called 'the broomstick' for gauging the fuel. It consisted of... well, a chopped broomstick. Dip, check, let the fuel evaporate, toss in the back. Fuel gauges never worked anyways.
Fuel gauges are only required to be accurate when tanks are empty. Characterise your plane as to GPH burned and fill up when lightly loaded and calibrate the "broom stick" at 5 gallon intervals. Caution with wings with dihedral. NOTE your engine START TIME and Departure time on a knee board with a pencil and paper. Drink a LARGE COFFEE BEFORE DEPARTURE you will land well before the tanks run dry...
When I learned to fly I was fortunate enough to get an awesome instructor. As we filled out our flight plan we also listed fuel checks automatically over checkpoints. We never ran a tank to empty because we would switch over after 1/2 a tank to balance the aircraft. We also never let the plane sit any length of time with a less than full tank because that’s how condensation accumulates and water can get into the fuel. And if you run it close to empty and there is contaminates in the fuel that’s when it can get into the engine. Of course those are both unlikely to occur, Jess always was thinking ahead and if there was even a remote chance something could go wrong he had a plan to overcome it. Of course Orville Wright signed off his instructor so he was a third generation aviator, unlike the guys I see today that are taxiing down to the runway with their seatbelts hanging out the door. Aviation is totally unforgiving when it comes to carelessness or stupidity, that was on a sign in his hanger.
Great animations man! You clearly put lots of work into your videos!
This is very interesting to watch from a glider pilots perspective :)
Your fuel is rising warm air! XD
Great advice... AND a karaoke ending. Who could want more?
Absolutely excellent video as always! I rent archers and they are typically full but sometimes at “the tabs”. Trying to learn all I can because as you covered, I doubt any pilot plans on running out of fuel during their Flight planning!
Thanks ! Watching your videos, reminds me of my "Younger" flying experiences . . . Bob
Going back and watching old episodes has the same effect on me ;)
Saw the title and thought you crashed.
Nearly had me in tears there, what else would I do on a Friday if there’s no FSF?
Nope, just worried about it, as always :P
Yes they are using them, but there are good clickbait titles and there are bad. Bad = "BRAND NEW AIR CRASH INVESTIGATIONS 2018!" and it's 10 years old. This one isn't bad lol
Definitely a lil click baity, but glad you OK. Haha. I mean, look at the views on this vid relative to channel and other vids. This will have a mill views within so many months. We all have that morbid curiosity.
It's only because of the non-pilots who want to see somebody crash instead of learning how to prevent them. It's a phenomenon I'm well used to on this channel.
Friendly Skies Film legitimately so true. The one where you were a student and the pilot who was t using his radio went to land at the same time you did got like 10 times more views, only because the topic is about you and a near disaster
Yup, this is why I use my watch as a fuel gauge instead. Just about every fuel gauge in the rentals Ive flown look more like mini windshield wipers.
Lol
Great ideas re: fuel management, thanks!
I'd like to add one thing my instructor told me: it's useful to take two or three readings of each tank, because you might have the metering straw a bit tilted, thus getting too large a number.
Yay!!! Videos are back, I've missed you Nick!!
Hi friend! Missed you guys too :)
"There is a point you can have too much fuel..... when you are on fire... Nothing more useless than fuel in the truck and runway behind you." - Bryan Haggerty 2017 Passing on words of wisdom, fly safe everyone! :)
One other useless commodity altitude above you a safe altitude is one from which you can glide with a dead engine to a safe place to land.
I find it one of those big scandals of society how in planes, that are much more critical than cars in this regards, they still use floater-based fuel gauges. You pointed out all the problems with it and one would assume every aircraft engineer knows, too, and would come up with a better solution that is worth using everywhere even if it turns out more expensive. Statistics seem to prove that it is a necessary safety investment.
The only thing I can imagine is that technologies that would work might have electrical currents too close to the fuel. For example, there must be a way to develop a stripe you put on the inside wall of the tank that gives feedback about where fuel comes in contact with it, and combining that with a custom curve in the electronics, a tank shape profile, that gives an accurate percentage read, including things like ignoring fuel on the bottom that could be rendered unusable unless you pull some stunts.
Dᴏᴡʟᴘʜᴡɪɴ The technology to accurately measure fuel quantity already exist, and has for decades. Google "Capacitive fuel level sensors". It is used in all commercial and most business jet aircraft.
It works much like the way the touch screen on your smartphone. (Very tiny amount of electricity) A aircraft will have several of these sensors in a fuel tank sending info to a microcontroller which combines the averages to a single reading on the gauge.
Pros:
1. Very accurate fuel quantity to a few percent.
2. Will accurately measure fuel quantity despite odd tank sizes.
3. Will accurately measure fuel quantity in any orientation and flight attitudes.
4. No moving parts to fail.
Cons:
1. Expensive.
2. Must be tailored to a specific fuel type for a specific tank size in a specific aircraft. (Primary reason for why it is expensive.)
3. Will occasionally require trimming by a specialist as the electronics age.
There is no such thing as a perfect aircraft. Like everything in life, there are tradeoffs.
You want a fancy, fast, safe aircraft? Be prepared to spend big bucks. ($$$,$$$+ at minimum)
You want a cheap and safe aircraft? It ain't gonna be a brand spanking new hot rod with the fancy electronics suite. (Think Cessna 172 with dial gauges)
The trick is to find a balance that works for you and work within those limits. I.E. a aircraft with float fuel level gauges. Just don't take off unless both gauges indicate at least half full. It would probably be better to get more fuel anyway since the half full indication could be in reality be less than 25% full. Scary thought.
The main point in this video is to "play it safe, carry enough fuel to get you through the day plus some extra for emergencies". You can't just "pull over on the side of the road" like you can in a car when you run out of gas. Besides it is not a good habit to have anyway.
Every "GOOD" pilot knows that fuel gauges are there only for decoration purposes - small or large AC. Pilots rely on formula of known fuel quantities or fuel weight by the gallon per hour of flight under certain loads and restrictions(mostly wind). If you rely on gauges you're asking for it. So no, on a commercial airliner they do not rely on fuel gauges. I know cause I used to fuel commercial AC and owned a couple Warrior II's.
Not so much for decoration purposes, as much as failure indicators. You don't plan flights around your fuel gauges for reasons stated. You do use them to find out if your fuel system is misbehaving.
Was exaggerating the decoration purposes statement - was trying to make a point. A better onboard fuel failure indicator is the fuel pressure gauge not the fuel quantity gauges and nothing beats a good flight plan like the airliners use, theyre easy once you get used to them and if you do a short hop without filing - extra insurance, kind of fun and good practice for GA flying.
Tanall -- "misbehaving" -- I will have to remember that one.
When thereafter safely landed, is the correct remedial action to chide the system, "You were very naughty"?
Then you have to admonish it to perform better in the future :)
Heyy man, I love this channel!
:) Thanks, mate. Always nice to hear.
Love the paint scheme on your Piper. I've only flew once and it was in a Piper Cherokee back in 1999. I was 13 and it was an Eagle flight. The pilot was a family friend and even let me do a few orbits around my grandparents home. He even let me line us up for the landing approach. I messed up the first approach so we went around and I was able to get the aircraft on a good glide slope. I handled everything but the trim and flaps. Wished I would have had the money to have gotten a private pilots liscense when I was a teen. Words can't describe the joy I felt when I had control of the yolk and rolled to the right and was able to clearly see my Grandmother standing in her yard. We were about 600-750 feet above ground level. I could even see the cordless phone in her hand. The pilot had told my mom at the airfield to wait X amount of minutes and then call my Grandmother. This was to let her know we were doing a fly over her home. This dude knew his math as we arrived about 2 minutes within his estimation. I understand what you mentioned about the float inside the wings fuel tank (certified automotive technician). Its the same thing that happens in older vehicles as the variable resistor that the float is attached to ages. Example an old car can show a full tank when parked on a slight incline but on level ground will show 3/4. My grandfathers old truck does this and even changes fuel indication level when braking for a stop sign or going around sharp curves. As you mentioned about always leaving room for error I do the same in that pickup truck. Always check the fuel gauge on level ground and never let it show below 1/4. Learned my lesson the hard way as i've ran out of fuel in the old truck. The gauge was showing about 3/16 of a tank. I thought for sure I had enough fuel to make it 5 miles to the next gas station but nope. I had hit the level where the sending unit could not use the remainder of fuel even though there was still 1.5-2 gallons in the tank. Another thing you might think about is fueling in different ambient temperatures and humidity. As this affects fuel volume. Always better to fill up in the mornings when the air temp is lower.
End Credit music gives me flashbacks of CodysLab timelaps's
"Hey everyone, Cody here, and welcome back to my PA 28."
heard of ave?
Jon Johnson
Only recently started watchin that choocher
Cody would make fuel using urine
Scared me Nick thought you crashed or something glad nothing actually happened.
I ok! :)
Nice videos, the narration, photography, editing is excellent. You made a very good point at the end of your video about seeing the fuel amount after top off. I teach my students do three checks when fueling the aircraft. 1. Estimate fuel onboard based on the fuel gauges. 2. Estimate fuel onboard based on visual inspection (compare that to the gauge est.) 3. Use the fuel pump as you suggested to know exactly how much fuel was left in the tank(s). The purpose is to hone and check the pilots skill of accurately calculating fuel performance and
provides a check as to the accuracy of the fuel gauges. For owners it would also alert the pilot to a higher than usual fuel usage. Good job I really like your ADM!
So glad you enjoyed! Thanks for the kind words :)
Really professional quality animations man! Love it, super informative
Glad you enjoyed :)
I never fly over 3 hours from start with full tanks.
I have an expensive engine monitor with fuel flow. Want to never run out of gas? All you need is a kitchen timer from Wal-mart. Find the max time on your aircraft. That is total tank capacity divided by fuel burn per hour. For example, a skyhawk typically burns 8 gallons an hour if properly leaned (I get it down to 7.5 if I try). Round that up to 10 GPH, and so with the standard 40 Gal tank you get 4 hours of flight time. That's conservative enough that you don't need to do a lot of calculation about usable vs. unusable fuel.
Now subtract an hour. So for my 172, I get 3 hours flight time.
Set the timer for 3 hours when you start up the engine and put it somewhere you can hear the alarm go off.
When the alarm goes off, find somewhere to land and fuel.
Flying by time is more accurate than any other method except actually measuring fuel flow (and even then not if the thing is not properly calibrated). You can have headwinds, tailwinds, crosswinds, the flight time will be the same.
Last hint: get a sleeping bag and take it with you on cross countries. I have never had anyone have an issue with your sacking out in the pilots lounge. Getting to your airport and finding the self service fuel station is out of whack leads to you trying to push your fuel limits in the dark. In the morning you bitch to the fuel operator or get a truck, and you had a neat sleepover. Plus if you should ever have to land in the wilderness or deal with cold, you are set.
Bonus hint: If the self service fuel station cuts out (stops working or never starts the pump), don't try it over and over. The station usually places a hold on your credit card/debt car of up to $100, and you can max out your card that way and be well and truly stuck.
Operating time is just another tool. Fuel consumption can vary widely, depending on engine load, although on some aircraft, such as the Robinson R22 helicopter, flight is strictly limited by time: The machine can fly nearly three hours on a full tank, but the POH says to land at two hours, no matter what.
I don't know of any kitchen timer with a piezo sounder that is reliably loud enough to be heard over the noise of an aircraft piston engine. A timer that feeds a signal into the cabin speaker and headset circuit and simultaneously flashes an alert light would be good, though. I can't hear my wireless phone ringing in crowds, but I can feel it vibrate if it is in a pocket close to my body, so a vibrator alert might work in an aircraft, too, especially when it is coupled to visual and audible signals. I've considered buying a cheap Android phone just to use as a timing device. Without the GPS, cellular radio, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth active, a smartphone can run for 4 to 6 days without recharging and it has a headset output that could be connected to an auxiliary audio input jack in an aircraft.
Good tips on bringing along a sleeping bag and use of a credit on fuel pumps.
Milosz Ostrow He can get away with it in an airplane because they're not at 100% all the time.
I like it.
And if that happens where authorization holds max out your card then call the number on the back of your card regardless of time and a rep like me can remove the holds. Usually we need the authorization of the merchant to do so but in an emergency, like being stranded, it can be done anyway. If you get a receipt from the machine then keep each one because we may need to verify the authorization number at the bottom.
Good advice!
Very useful reminders; another factor is a persistent head wind while enroute, I know of an accident caused by fuel starvation on account of a constant head wind. Fly safe!
Great and informational, and something I've never considered - thanks for taking the time!
You'reeee welcome :)
I'm not even sure how I ended up here. I'm a game designer, not a pilot. But I LOVE IT! *subscribes*
And I love the karaoke! That's one of my favorite songs!
Me too ;) And sometimes I wish I was a game designer, not a pilot ;P
Love that WPI tee shirt!
Yeah, boy!! :D
My dad flew an aircraft he hired, that belonged to a private owner with a bladder tank system, the gas caps unbeknownst to him, were both incorrect, and leaking. As he was flying, the entire time he was losing fuel, he had filled the aircraft with fuel and assumed that he therefore had plenty of range. He was put in a situation where he had to execute a forced landing on a bush track, which fortunately, while damaging the aircraft wing, and writing it off, didn't result in any injuries. The regular checks of fuel state, would have given him a heads-up that something was very wrong, by the time he realized he was low fuel, he had no options to make an airstrip anymore.
I don't have an airplane and have never even taking a flying lesson but I've been binging on your videos! Haha
Time to start, then ;)
A friend who got me started to becoming a pilot was killed years later when he ran out of fuel and crashed in Colorado. To this day I don't understand how. I flew with him several times. He flew "by the book". The FAA even investigated as a possible suicide due to the fact that it's so avoidable!
OH I MISSED THIS INTRO!!
Me too :)
Friendly Skies Film what state do you fly out of? ( Your home Airport )
For now, Worcester Regional (KORH) in MA. Soon, West Palm Beach are.
Great explanation of your fuel research, thank you!
Thanks, mate :)
How'd you know I speak the 'mate' lingo? LOL
Upvote for the karaoke!
(and the good fuel info... but we're always required to fill up the tanks when we return the planes so we never have fuel issues [and yes, I always double check tanks are full during preflight]).
Good Video 👍
seems like a small reserve tank in the airplane body would be nice to have
Experimental Fun , That reserve tank system adds to the empty weight, reduces payload, and increases complexity. Left, Both, Right has worked well overall in light aircraft general aviation for many decades. Taking the time to know how a particular aircraft's subsystems work in the real world, as this man has with his aircraft's fuel system, is one of the best ways to avoid many bad incidents in aviation.
one more thing to miss manage by the low timer...
There’s a reason why fuel gauges in planes arnt as precise and gauges in a new car, if they were imagine the bad habits that would follow. The dip stick don’t lie, just be sure it’s the one for your airplane. My habit inplanes with only left or right, try changing tanks in the first 1/2 hour then every hour after that.
Ask John Denver about that.....oh, you can't. He had fuel in his reserve tank but didn't use it
Just another tank to run dry if you don't know what you're doing.
I saw one girl measuring with the stick and said that one tank had more fuel than the other when running on both. Had she not been measuring, she would have never known that there was a problem in the fullest tank. Another pilot said he never leaves the airport unless the tanks are full. You can always sacrifice luggage weight instead.
Nice job. Your video production skills are awesome. Good topic covered in a really good way.
Glad you enjoyed, mate :)
Every aircraft I've flown has had an individually calibrated dipstick in the cockpit and you shalt not fly without checking it, nor shall you use the stick from one tail number on another tail number _ever_
Guessing this is not in the US, yeah?
Affirmative, it IS a most embarrassing way! We don't have to fall victim to the easily avoidable trap of self-imposed fuel exhaustion.
Next level editing skills bro ✊🏻
I was subscribed to a newsletter in the late '70s called "Aviation Monthly." It was a rewrite/edit version of NTSB crash reports for aircraft. Today, you can find crash info on the web via the FAA Gov. There were many ending with: PIC crashed short of the destination airport due to Fuel Exhaustion/Fuel Mismanagement. Many times, such reports stated the pilot was less than a few miles from the runway. Most, if not all of these cases were fatal. As the saying goes, FAA regulations were written as a result of someone's blood loss.
I can't wait for a "Tesla" solution for the skies.
Ha. Ha. Ha. Then you're going to LOOOOOVE the next video.
There are reasons that aviation depends on combustibles. Batteries have a terrible energy density as compared to fuel, so you need more of them for the same endurance. And you always carry the full weight unlike when you burn off fuel. And more weight on the same wings always means more drag.
We’re designing a UAV for our senior design project here at UT Austin, and we’re mandated to use batteries because IC engines would be too easy to meet the endurance requirement with.
I've heard this argument before but I'm not convinced. IC engines are common, well developed, and fuel density is high. But, they waste a great deal of the energy in the fuel during conversion to mechanical energy. Also, batteries are increasing in density all the time, so maybe we'll start seeing more practical electric airplanes. We're already seeing electric airplanes with reasonable performance and over an hour of run time, so they're close to being practical for some missions.
So, this is the subject of next week's video. See if you can find me your favorite candidate for "reasonable performance," and send it my way. I'm always afraid that I become myopic when planning these things and might miss things.
Siemens equipped an Extra 300 with a 260kW electric motor that weighs only 50kg. They use that as a test bed with different battery technology, and apparently they have no problem to fly a full aerobatic program with that, or tow a glider and have set several records with that plane already. Of course it doesn't have the endurance of a normal Extra 300, but it is still quite impressive.
I came here for the crash... Next time crash before you post a video.. 😂
Yeah, I'll remember that.....
Friendly Skies Film hahaha thank you!! You know I'm just messing with ya
Yeah, you're one of the good ones ;)
Excellent, practical discussion. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed :)
great advice. always enjoy your vids. fellow pilot now becoming CFI
Good luck! :D Let is know how it goes.
I clicked a thumbs down.... the title was click bait.
Uh-oh. The non-pilots have shown up...
I've been a licensed pilot since the 80's.
Ah, darn. I make a few mistakes, I suppose :P I get pretty sick of people who say that I'm not a pilot, so my apologies. That being said, would you not agree then, that fuel exhaustion would have been a pretty embarrassing way to lose your plane?
Friendly Skies Film yes....and the video was great. But the title was still click bait. You know this already.
Got to agree the title was click bait, that's why I'm here. But I enjoyed the video anyway, so I feel somewhat conflicted, but it wasn't what I was expecting.
I found this trick useful with my plane, a pacer on bush wheels. Regarding fuel dip sticks. They are specifically designed for a specific tank on a specific aircraft and specific set-up. You will likely need to modify the marks to match your aircraft. Check and make a mark before you fuel up, then note how many gallons you topped off with, subtract from tank size and you now have a known mark.
After several fill-ups of various flight times, you’ll have a decent spread of numbers to accurately convert the original numbers to accurate quantities.
Good work. Well presented and important.
Glad you enjoyed :)
Wow, great video, love the fuel tank animations! I hope to one day get into aviation, want a small Cessna with floats to fly to remote land I own in Alaska
Ah, sounds like a fantastic adventure :)
My dream
Excellent! Very important info that you present expertly! Keep up the great videos! ~ Josh
Glad you enjoyed it :)
Great info as usual from your videos.
Good to know I have that reputation :)
When I was learning to fly in 1979, near Indianapolis, some local guy had purchased a used Beech King Air. He was returning from Minnesota (if my memory is correct) with a flight plan filed for IND. He ran out of fuel about six miles short of IND while on approach and attempted to "land" in a gravel pit. His last flight, a.k.a., deceased on the scene. Lessons were obvious, first time in the airplane, not familiar with its fuel useage, poor flight planning. multiple airports he passed, including one (Eagle Creek) three miles from crash scene. Truly the poorest excuse ever for endling a flight off a field.
Excellent advice. A good friend of mine died in a crash when he ran out of fuel. The NTSB report stated his fuel level sensors weren't reading correctly, so the gauges indicated more fuel than was actually in the tanks. And he was only 1/2 mile from the runway. RIP Bobby.
:( Thanks for sharing with us, friend.
The only acurate reading that the fuel gauges are required to show is empty. Never rely on the fuel gauges.
Many years ago when I was taking lessons I flew into this airport on a cross country. Flew out of Spencer MA
Great video and advice.
Standard Operating Procedure on my slightly larger bird: check fuel status (fuel on board, fuel used against planned burn and planned remaining) every 30 minutes or every waypoint, whichever is the longer period. Now, that is kinda easy on an IFR with a pre-known route, waypoints, step by step fuel calculation and so on, not to mention we don't have to switch tanks, the aircraft does that by itself. But a check roughly every 30 minutes on a VFR flight sounds like a very sensible idea.
It always surprised me how inaccurate the fuel gauges were on small GA aircraft, that in itself is a real danger, especially if maintenance has been dodgy and the fuel tank and sensor might not be in the best working order anymore.
Soordhin iii
Great video thanks!
When you refuel a plane, it's not like refueling your car where you fill it up until the pump cuts out. You only carry enough jungle juice to complete your journey and a bit extra in case you miss the runway or are redirected to another airport, be it due to bad weather or a security incident (i.e. bomb scare). What sometimes causes fuel exhaustion is if a mechanical issue causes the engines to run rich and burn more fuel than is necessary, such as in the plane crash in 1977 that more or less sealed the deal for the Alabama rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.
I'm not a pilot but I operate heavy machinery n I was taught that you should check all your gauges every few minutes to spot problems before they become critical.
Very informative... Thanks
Fuel totalizers are also excellent tools for traveling. I often fly long trips (over 1000nm) in a Cherokee and the totalizer is excellent for planning fuel as routes change with weather and all the other factors that are subject to change over a long leg.
before i joined air cadets i never knew how much i love planes, And air cadets helped me discover that! When im a bit older i want to be a fighter pilot , and because of all the amazing pilots like yourself im inspired to do so. Keep up the awesome videos!
Aw, thanks! That really helps when I sit down to make these videos :) I was just about to ask what country plays host to the air cadets, since we have civil air patrol here in the US, but then I looked at your profile picture ;)
My squadron watches your videos for ground school (air cadet flight school)
Really? That makes me so happy! You guys should send me a picture on Facebook!
Hopefully i can convince my co to send you a few haha
I'll be looking forward to them. Thanks for getting in touch, and Blue Skies! :)
1.45 - Minute Man outside of Boston? If so, great, friendly little airport with a restaurant, and funky, non-credit card fuel pumps!
Yessir!! :)
When I was flying I like to use one tactic that most power Pilots never consider I plan my trip and I keep myself in Attitude so I can always Glide to an airport no matter what happens to the engine.
That was great information thank you
Glad you liked it :)
Thanks for this video, Nick!
The absolute most stressful decision I make on any flight is the pre-determination of how much fuel to carry. As a result, I almost always fly with topped off tanks with the exception of the dual-whammy of precious cargo plus high density altitude. If I'm going to err, it will be on the side of being slightly overweight versus being near my minimum safety margin for fuel. There have been too many times where I landed and put one or two more gallons in on one side than I expected. That's with a JPI digital fuel flow meter in an airplane I own and fly XC regularly. The flow meter doesn't tell me how much was used from each tank, just the total. It doesn't have any idea if some of the fuel vented out or leaked. And it can't tell me which tank each of those gallons used came out of, that's up to me to estimate based on time and phase of flight. My cruise-climb fuel flow at 4000ft is different than my cruise-climb fuel flow at 10000ft. How much time did I spend at each flow? How confident am I in my mental math? etc.
One helpful item I would really appreciate is to be able to install TSO'd magnetic field fuel level senders. Unfortunately it's a small market and there are no STCs I'm aware of for my type from CiES or the like. Which means I will continue to compensate on the side of caution, trusting my gauges for one thing only: to warn me that I should be concerned.
I think the people pushing those magnetic senders are doing god's work. Definitely saves lives. Glad you enjoyed the video, old friend :)
Awesome tips and Advice!
I do my best! :)
Some Boats are the same way, they read high because of the hull shape. Currently the diamond I train in is getting a sticky reading, but we use a dipstick every time and talk about our estimated fuel burn. As a auto technician I already know how sketchy these things are... and Ive seen other methods of measuring fuel, but Im convinced nothing is 100%
One thing a pilot should take into account in managing his fuel is that fuel is denser and holds more energy in cold weather than in warm.
Verifying availability of fuel at the destination should be part of the planning process.
Fuel Exhaustion accidents can be prevented by two simple steps added to the flight routine:
1) Keep a Continuous Fuel Log (fuel in, fuel out, total).
2) Consideration of fuel quantity should be added to the Before Start Checklist: "FUEL - NNN Gallons On-Board".
Never-ever rely solely on the gages.
This reminds me of a few weeks ago when a small aircraft landed on the I-4 interstate a couple miles from my house in FL.
I'll never fly a plane ever but this is great to know! Great video and lots for me to learn.
Haha, glad you enjoyed then :)
You can set a scheduler on your Garmin 430. We set one to go off reading "Switch Tanks" every 30 mins. Our fuel gauges in our PA-32 don't work at all.
I worked at an F.B.O. that had tabs put in the tanks that measured about half tanks. We would always fill the planes up to the tabs after the plane came back. Of course the pilot could request more fuel if they where going on longer flights. Know your aircraft before you take-off, (READ THE MANUAL) and follow the factory guidelines. They where designed to help you safely fly that aircraft.
Great stuff. My glider club's Pawnee once ran dry in the tow, at about 5000' AGL. Made it back safely. It turned out that the tanks were actually bags strung up inside the wing structure, and some of the fasteners had broken, so the bag had partially collapsed. This meant that both the straw measure and the gauges became completely wrong, and the pilot thought he had far more onboard than was the case. Needless to say, fuel receipts and logging of usage became the standard after this.
No kidding! Didn't know that about the Pawnee.
Have to correct that, the rubber fuel cell was in the fuselage, apparently! Only the last model of the Pawnee had fuel in the wings.
That beautiful TBM behind you..
Hey friend.., Phenomenal tutorial about fueling!!.
Glad you think so. I do my best :)
Good humour , great advice!
I try :)
My personal failure on the "I'd never do that" list was forgetting to lean. (High stress day, unfamiliar aircraft, all the usual excuses.) Amazing what a couple hours at full rich at 11,000 will waste. And amazing pucker factor when it gets quiet. Switched tanks, 500-600 feet of descent over a 9500 foot pass before happy sounds. Education. Glad I wasn't just trying to clear the high point by 500 feet.
So much real stuff... I arrived to an airport after my first Long Cross-Country Solo Flight from California to the Border of Arizona (Blythe) through California's Bermuda Dunes. Their fuel station was closed when I arrived, but I luckily had enough fuel remaining to land and refill at Banning Airport in California... if they weren't open, I would've been stuck in that area... and a bit mad.
Same situation here! I guess we can both applaud ourselves for carrying enough fuel for "contingencies", or a stop for dinner, in my case :)
New favorite youtuber
:D
Very nice all the way around. I have had an uncomfortable experience with just such gauge inaccuracy. I eyeballed the gas in the tank (C-172) prior to the flight. There was no reason to think that I didn't have enough fuel to make a 1.5 hr flight and return. However, I found out the hard way that one of the gauges was faulty. During the return trip, my right fuel gauge was showing EXACTLY what my visual and nav calculations showed that it SHOULD BE. When the engine stopped at 4,500 AGL and 30 min. from home, I was stunned because my right tank showed 1/4 full! Thankfully, FAT (Fresno) was only a few minutes from my location. I had to declare "minimum fuel" and they vectored me for a straight in on 29R. Lesson learned!! Also, not sure why, but the engine was using about a gallon per hour more than what the book says. So, between the two dynamics, I was almost a glider.