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At 08:51 PM 12/19/03 -0800, William R. Bayne wrote:
>Thanks for passing this on, Bob!
Agreed. We all need to be reminded from time to time.
<<Much good verbiage deleted for brevity>>
>An Ercoupe pilot should remove and verify fuel and caps personally in
each
>tank before a cross country departure or other such extended flight.
More Correct = All Ercoupe Pilots should personally remove both wind tank
capss and verify fuel for All Flights. The header "gage"
should be activated to see that it goes up and down, and "floats" as
though
something is there. Said gage should be marked
and scrutinized often in flight.
> Marking cap fronts with paint allows in-flight verification of proper
> orientation,
Not a bad idea, but much better to check before departure - see above.
>I believe the computer term "GIGO" is applicable...garbage in, garbage
out.
Like all accident reports, a grain of salt is needed. Thinking about what
happend (Thank You, Bill and Bob) does us all good.
"Been there, done that, got the t-shirt." I flew with Opal Walker to the
2001 Ercoupe Owners Club annual meeting in Terrell,
Texas. Our last fuel stop was Grandbury. When we were well on our way to
Terrell, I asked Opal "Does your fuel usually
ride that low?" "Nope..." Oooopies. Spent a good fifteen munutes
looking
desperatly for Terrell and watching the gage descend.
On the ground, we found the fuel cap had been put half back on! Them's
expensive varments to loose. No other problems
identified.
We went back to Roswell, New Mexico, the same way. This time, the guy at
Grandbury got that cap on completely backwards!
This time, Once-burned-twice-shy Wood here, spotted it. Opal took the
opportunity to "educate" the attendent, and we made it
back without incident.
Moral: A safe flight is More Than no accident. Learn from each one.
Percy in Portland
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