Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 23:56:58 -0600
Reply-To: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Subject: Re: Fwd: Stranded - my first heartbreak
In-Reply-To: <20061208032856.8669.qmail@web55810.mail.re3.yahoo.com>
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Gary said
>>Back when I used to drive trucks for a living, one of the first things you learn is NEVER, EVER trust a fuel gauge - - you always visually check your tank with a stick.<<
Goes double when flying aircraft - fixed wing or fling-wing. You cannot pull over and park on a cloud. You always fly aircraft by the clock. This is because of the effect of winds on ground speed which affects the time it takes to get somewhere. Airplanes have two speeds - airspeed or the speed it moves through the air, and ground speed - the speed it moves over the ground.
I worked in the town of Cordova down by Prince William Sound in Alaska. I caught a flight with an air taxi operator in a small twin engine aircraft back to Anchorage. I was seated behind the pilot. We were at about 12,000 feet and over the Chugach Mountains - having already clear the water of the sound - when suddenly both engines shut down. The fans kept turning because of the pressure of forward motion on the propellers. My pucker factor shot right off the scale. Pulled a cone right up on those plastic seat covers that took the mechanics three cans of cone remover, two rolls of paper towels and some serious elbow grease to make that seat useable again. That shutdown should not have happened. When you run a tank dry, there is a possibility you will not be able to get the engine to start again. Additionally, that sudden reverse loading of all those moving parts and the sudden changes in the amounts of inertia involved can be sufficient to result in an engine flying apart. Multiply that by two engines instead of one and there could be a disaster in the making. Fortunately all went well. The pilot properly throttled the engines back, switched the tanks, hit the boost pumps and the engines caught and we were back flying again instead of gliding. I was not pleased, and I had words with the Chief Pilot of the operation. I read in the paper two days later that that same pilot was killed on a short flight from the General Aviation airport over to the International Airport just a short hop across town. Cause of the accident - ran out of fuel at low level. Didn't have time to switch tanks and restart.
John Rodgers
88 GL Driver
Gary Bawden wrote:
> Volks,
>
> I'm dragging out the ol' soapbox for a moment. Some of you may not be aware of it, but since the EPA started to pay attention to leaking gasoline storage tanks, many of the mom & pop gas stations have gone the way of the dodo, rather than spend the big bucks required to upgrade. As a result, just because you see a place on a map that's big enough to have a name, it's really best not to assume you can get some gas there. Where I live (here in Nevada), there's ONE gas station, and if you don't have a credit card you'll not necessarily be able to get gas, as the station is not always open. Going south, next gas is 67 miles. Going west, it's about 85 miles. North, only 27 miles, but if you want to head east from there and don't fill your tank, next gas is 112 miles!
>
> All that aside, keeping your tank topped up reduces condensation, so you won't get nearly so much moisture in the tank (a bad thing).
>
> Back when I used to drive trucks for a living, one of the first things you learn is NEVER, EVER trust a fuel gauge - - you always visually check your tank with a stick. That mistrust of gauges has carried over for me - - not having a suitable stick for the Vanagon, I reset the trip meter every time I fill the tank, and try and remain conscious of the amount of fuel in the tank prior to heading out somewhere.
>
> OK, end of rant, putting the soapbox away. Keep the shiny side up and your tank topped off!
>
> Gary
>
>
> Steven,
> I have run out of gas only once years ago - however here are a few reasons I could think of. Note: these only apply to meor the past me so take them for what their worth.
> 1. Gas Guages are inaccurate 2. Some people - though not by choice - live a little lean in the pocket book and occasionally find themselves stretching a tank of gas a bit too far. 3. Although irresponsible - just didn't notice the tank was that low. 4. In a hurry I'll stop later - oops 5. Broken gas guage
> Those are just a few things I could think of. You know stuff like this happens - some due to poor choices but some out of the driver's control.
>
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> ---------------------------------
> Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta.
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