Flight Instructions for a Skymaster

[mshac]

Thanks for telling the story again Ernie! Glad everyone was safe.

Having flown for a charter company specializing in the Bahamas out of FXE for several years, the fuel theft theory makes the most sense. We tried to never stay overnight at certain airports, and if we did, we always got fuel immediately prior to departure. Fuel theft never seems to happen with Jet-A, only avgas. It happens at US airports too, its not strictly a Bahamian event.

I can see where this would have snagged me too, because I usually go by the fuel totalizer for qty on board. I should give the fuel gauges a at least a cursory glance, but I'll admit it doesn't always happen. I'm gonna try to be more vigilant about it, especially if the plane was parked overnight on a public ramp.

The only other thing I can think of that would've helped is a calibrated fuel dipstick, but how many of us have one? For a 337, they have to be made, can't be bought. When I flew 172's, we had a calibrated clear tube dipstick that showed exactly how much fuel was onboard. We used it before most flights because the gauges were unreliable.

I was at the pump the other day filling the Skymaster's 150.3 gallons, while about three or four airplanes waited behind me. The pump was slow, so it took awhile to get the 120 or so gallons in it to fill it. There was an RV, a 170, a Tripacer and a Cirrus, and I thought to myself these four guys combined will buy less fuel than me!

[Ernie Martin]

No 100LL in Great Harbour Cay. I do have a calibrated dipstick but it starts showing fuel at 37 gallons, so if you have less -- and the 1-hour flight to Miami with 100% margin requires only 20 gallons per tank -- it's useless.

Ernie

[mshac]

Originally Posted by Ernie Martin

No 100LL in Great Harbour Cay. I do have a calibrated dipstick but it starts showing fuel at 37 gallons, so if you have less -- and the 1-hour flight to Miami with 100% margin requires only 20 gallons per tank -- it's useless.

Ernie

I don't have a 337 fuel dipstick, so I didn't realize they were so limited. I guess this is one time that there's no substitute for working analog gauges.

[Ernie Martin]

Because the wings are dihedral (higher at the tip) there is no fuel visible at the fueling port until you have 37 gallons in the tank.

Ernie

[mshac]

I flew a few Twin Bonanzas. Those guys figured out a hockey-stick shaped dipstick that went sideways toward the plane to get to the fuel that wasn't visible at the port. Not sure if that's possible on a 337.