> On Wed, 2002-07-03 at 14:04, Gene Buckle wrote: > > > The other one I've learned from real experience (as a passenger). If > > > while you are looking a little up and to the rear to check flap > > > status, if you also notice a big plume of something that looks a lot > > > like smoke coming off one or both wings, land and check your fuel tank > > > covers. (And extinguish your cigarettes.) :-) > > > > Ye gods. That's why you pre-flight _after_ you've fueled up. Gas it, > > park it and then check it _all_. I'm amazed you made it back. It doesn't > > take long to suck those wing tanks dry. > > Could have been plenty in the center tank ... > > I would think fuel spraying somewhere near the nacelles or exhaust plume > would be a bigger worry.
I think they're talking prop light aircraft. It is especially severe with high wing aircraft, since you cannot simply look at the fuel filler ports and trivially inspect them. Fuel island staff often don't know how to put the caps on right, and pilots often leave them off to dip the tanks and get distracted, so forget and take off without replacing caps. The fuel starts to siphon off as soon as the wing generates lift, which is creating a low pressure above the wing surface, and I'm told you have about five minutes before that tank is completely emptied out. The fuel doesn't siphon out before the lift is generated, so there is often no indication on the ground (during runup) of a problem. Given that this corresponds to 7 miles at normal flight speeds and a normal empty traffic pattern can be as big as four miles around, it is imperative to declare an emergency immediately and get any other traffic out of the way. You cannot afford any delay at that point. Another fun trick is to leave off the oil cap. As you're rolling down the runway and advance the throttle to full power, about five seconds later you lose all forward visibility as the engine oil gets delivered all over the windshield (at 30 mph ground speed). No, I haven't done either of these. It's amazing what you learn when working as a safety counselor (grin). _______________________________________________ Flightgear-devel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.flightgear.org/mailman/listinfo/flightgear-devel
