Quote:
Originally Posted by hharney
Once the aux's are drained you know that all the fuel you have is in the main tanks. I calculate the time very conservatively and figure my reserve.
|
Excellent advice. I run tanks dry routinely. It's a safety issue. It was SOP in the piston airliners for decades. (There IS a reason not to run tanks dry on turbines. Different animal)
You want ALL of your fuel in one tank (per engine) when making a max range trip and having your "one hour reserve" IN ONE PLACE. Low, on an approach, sweating weather or nav issues, is NO time to be looking for fuel spread around different tanks, That can kill you and has killed others. Do you want your reserve all in one place and all fuel decisions made or do you want it spread around various tanks, not knowing exactly how much is where when the chips are down?
RUN THEM DRY IN FLIGHT and determine exactly how much REAL usable fuel you have in each tank. Unless you do that, you do not know. Draining the fuel on the ground is not the same and does not work.
Knowing this information could save your life one day.
If you are not comfortable running a tank dry, get an instructor who is and get comfortable with it. It is a safety issue.