Fuel Management
Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2019 6:21 am
Hey Folks,
Although my little 520# helicopter is not an LSA, I am about to tell a recent story about what happened to me...that DOES APPLY to sport pilots in several ways.
It will best fit into the category of "I Learned About Flying From That 2018," stealing the title from the popular series in FLYING magazine.
I had been out zipping around the Cartersville, Rome, Cedartown, Rockmart area on this clear, cool Sunday morning and was very pleased how my Bluehead Rotax 582 was carrying my 260 pound self around. It was time to call it a day and fly to my house to eat lunch. The last stop...was to the local airport to get gas since I always want to land in the confined area at my house with 5 gallons. This leaves me enough the next time I fly, to get to the airport to fill-up. At 260# I cannot get out of my yard with more than 5 gallons.
At the end of my flight on this day, when I landed at the airport I only had 2 gallons. I removed the gas cap and laid it in the seat. I walked to the FBO ( I park a fair distance away in consideration of people who dislike helicopters because of their dust and debris...FLY NEIGHBORLY ) to use the restroom and ask the fuel truck guy to put 5 gallons in the tank. I only live about 8 miles away.
In the FBO, I asked the manager about Basic Med and If I'd be able to rent their 172's. A local, busy-body Doctor and Lawyer were in there and started voicing their opinion that the FBO should NEVER allow that and they probably would NOT! The discussion got a little spirited and distracted me 100%. I TOTALLY forgot to ask for fuel. You can see what's coming...
I eventually left the discussion and walked to the helicopter. I replaced the gas cap and in my mind, I was confident the truck had put 5 gallons in the tank, JUST AS I HAD ASKED HIM TO DO.
I made a leisurely, 8-mile trip home with only TWO GALLONS in my tank. Now in cruise, the 582 burns about 5.5 per hour in the helicopter with my "big-boned" self inside. I safely landed and exited the little MH-6 Special-Ops IMPOSTER. I removed both side panels and started my post-flight. I was perplexed at the absence of a blue tint to the lower part of the translucent white polyethylene fuel tank. I had begun that day by filling-up at my friend's hangar with Sport Fuel 93 Non-Ethanol which is clear, but I expected to see 5 gallons or so of blue 100LL during post-flight.
Well, upon close inspection, I saw the level of clear sport fuel and it was LITERALLY EVEN WITH THE UPPER O.D. OF THE BLACK NEOPRENE PICKUP LINE!!! I was flushed and my heart was pounding hard. I sat down on the grass and thought about how close I came to running the Rotax silent. I was certain I had gotten fuel. How could this have happened? My corrective action to keep me from making this possibly fatal mistake again was...I will always remove the key when I need gas and place it on the pitot tube ( The key has the Pitot Cover and Remove Before Flight flag on it. ). Hopefully having to "wonder why" the key is on the pitot tube will sober me enough to say "Check to make sure helicopter was serviced with fuel." I also promptly installed a BeLite LED Fuel Gauge so I didn't have to look back on the firewall at the sight tube. It was hard to turn my head that far in flight.
Here is a picture of the tank just a few minutes after I landed !! I estimate I had 20 to 30 seconds of usable fuel left. THE "1" AND "2" MARKS ARE GALLONS!
Although my little 520# helicopter is not an LSA, I am about to tell a recent story about what happened to me...that DOES APPLY to sport pilots in several ways.
It will best fit into the category of "I Learned About Flying From That 2018," stealing the title from the popular series in FLYING magazine.
I had been out zipping around the Cartersville, Rome, Cedartown, Rockmart area on this clear, cool Sunday morning and was very pleased how my Bluehead Rotax 582 was carrying my 260 pound self around. It was time to call it a day and fly to my house to eat lunch. The last stop...was to the local airport to get gas since I always want to land in the confined area at my house with 5 gallons. This leaves me enough the next time I fly, to get to the airport to fill-up. At 260# I cannot get out of my yard with more than 5 gallons.
At the end of my flight on this day, when I landed at the airport I only had 2 gallons. I removed the gas cap and laid it in the seat. I walked to the FBO ( I park a fair distance away in consideration of people who dislike helicopters because of their dust and debris...FLY NEIGHBORLY ) to use the restroom and ask the fuel truck guy to put 5 gallons in the tank. I only live about 8 miles away.
In the FBO, I asked the manager about Basic Med and If I'd be able to rent their 172's. A local, busy-body Doctor and Lawyer were in there and started voicing their opinion that the FBO should NEVER allow that and they probably would NOT! The discussion got a little spirited and distracted me 100%. I TOTALLY forgot to ask for fuel. You can see what's coming...
I eventually left the discussion and walked to the helicopter. I replaced the gas cap and in my mind, I was confident the truck had put 5 gallons in the tank, JUST AS I HAD ASKED HIM TO DO.
I made a leisurely, 8-mile trip home with only TWO GALLONS in my tank. Now in cruise, the 582 burns about 5.5 per hour in the helicopter with my "big-boned" self inside. I safely landed and exited the little MH-6 Special-Ops IMPOSTER. I removed both side panels and started my post-flight. I was perplexed at the absence of a blue tint to the lower part of the translucent white polyethylene fuel tank. I had begun that day by filling-up at my friend's hangar with Sport Fuel 93 Non-Ethanol which is clear, but I expected to see 5 gallons or so of blue 100LL during post-flight.
Well, upon close inspection, I saw the level of clear sport fuel and it was LITERALLY EVEN WITH THE UPPER O.D. OF THE BLACK NEOPRENE PICKUP LINE!!! I was flushed and my heart was pounding hard. I sat down on the grass and thought about how close I came to running the Rotax silent. I was certain I had gotten fuel. How could this have happened? My corrective action to keep me from making this possibly fatal mistake again was...I will always remove the key when I need gas and place it on the pitot tube ( The key has the Pitot Cover and Remove Before Flight flag on it. ). Hopefully having to "wonder why" the key is on the pitot tube will sober me enough to say "Check to make sure helicopter was serviced with fuel." I also promptly installed a BeLite LED Fuel Gauge so I didn't have to look back on the firewall at the sight tube. It was hard to turn my head that far in flight.
Here is a picture of the tank just a few minutes after I landed !! I estimate I had 20 to 30 seconds of usable fuel left. THE "1" AND "2" MARKS ARE GALLONS!