How do you check the fuel on preflight

[rotormandan]

Good point. Hot fuel is a pretty common operation. I haven't worked anywhere that didn't hot fuel (except the flight school.) No one is going to stick the tanks, see in the tank while running or going to be able to tap on the side. You might get lucky and your normal fueling spot is meter so you know what's going in but not always.

Edited June 3, 2013 by rotormandan

[Counterrotate]

6 of one, half a dozen of the other. Hot fuel means a known quantity is going in the tank. Flight plan off that and you should be good. What I'm talking about is when you approach a cold dark aircraft and maybe weren't the last one to fly it. How do you go about conducting your preflight? How do you figure out what's in there (and how much you need to add to successfully complete your flight)? Hot fuel brings its own challenges and responsibilities, but as long as you know how much you started with, how much you've burned, and how much is going in, you should be good.

[Spike]

You are a fool if you don't at least eyeball your tank to verify the gauge is reading accurately. I've had some issues in the past with fuel gauges. I don't trust them, and neither should you. Even a dip-stick is not an accurate indication, but it's a step above eye-balling it, and even just eye-balling the tank is a step above relying solely on the gauge. I NEVER EVER EVER rely solely on the gauge. They are probably the least reliable piece of instrumentation on the aircraft. For flight planning purposes, if the gauge says 30 gallons, and you check the tank, and it appears to be 30 gallons, I don't need to get my precisely calibrated wooden dowel out to check (OH MY! It appears there is only 29.8 gallons in this tank!). I will rely on the gauge, at that point, and I will plan my flight time accordingly. After that, whatever the tank reads is only a confirmation of my calculated fuel burn. If the two start to disagree, I am going to rely on whichever is indicating the least amount of fuel. It's just common sense.

 

I (mostly) fly 2 machines.. We use most of the fuel quantity each flight although we don’t top-off due to weight limitations and thus can’t see the fuel level through the filler pipe. Even so, I’m the one who puts the fuel in the tank on a daily bases. What goes in is the amount I plan to use. Plus, I do the math. What is in the tank plus the gallons added should correspond to the gauge reading and vice-versa to confirm burn, –every day. If it doesn’t, it’s a problem…. Additionally, not sure if others do it (and I’m quite sure very few do) but, during inspection intervals, I am there when the tank is emptied to check the “low fuel” light. I am there when the tank is incrementally refilled and the gauge readings are confirmed. I see it for my own eyes. You? Even so, in flight, I can actually feel the weight difference between lots of fuel and less fuel. That is, I know my machines intimately. What fool wouldn’t……..

 

Lastly, I said I used the gauge. I didn’t say that I trusted it…..

 

Edited June 11, 2013 by Spike

[aeroscout]

Getting good at keeping an eye on your fuel will pay off on the day you ever have a fuel leak.

[Counterrotate]

 

I (mostly) fly 2 machines.. We use most of the fuel quantity each flight although we don’t top-off due to weight limitations and thus can’t see the fuel level through the filler pipe. Even so, I’m the one who puts the fuel in the tank on a daily bases. What goes in is the amount I plan to use. Plus, I do the math. What is in the tank plus the gallons added should correspond to the gauge reading and vice-versa to confirm burn, –every day. If it doesn’t, it’s a problem…. Additionally, not sure if others do it (and I’m quite sure very few do) but, during inspection intervals, I am there when the tank is emptied to check the “low fuel” light. I am there when the tank is incrementally refilled and the gauge readings are confirmed. I see it for my own eyes. You? Even so, in flight, I can actually feel the weight difference between lots of fuel and less fuel. That is, I know my machines intimately. What fool wouldn’t……..

 

Lastly, I said I used the gauge. I didn’t say that I trusted it…..

 

All good then. A known quantity going in is better than guesstimating an unknown quantity. Maybe I read it too fast, but the previous post made it seem like you rely solely on the gauge. I'm not going to tell an old hand how to do their job, so don't take it that way. I'm sure you know your business. It just seemed like you were trying to make the wrong point (in my opinion, at that time). We'll leave it at that.

[Spike]

All good then. A known quantity going in is better than guesstimating an unknown quantity. Maybe I read it too fast, but the previous post made it seem like you rely solely on the gauge. I'm not going to tell an old hand how to do their job, so don't take it that way. I'm sure you know your business. It just seemed like you were trying to make the wrong point (in my opinion, at that time). We'll leave it at that.

 

You’re correct. I was trying to make a point and the point was; I use the gauge. I purposely left out all of the other peripheral information which allows me to “trust” my fuel load calculation because I wanted folks to ask questions. Simply put, I don’t use one single method. That is, I wouldn’t trust sticking a tank as my sole source of reference either…

 

Funny enough, I again assisted with defueling and refueling one of our machines yesterday. The low fuel light came on and extinguished at 17.5 gallons. The B2 fuel gauge readings are indicated by percentage of capacity. Full fuel is 143 gallons. 14.3 gallons indicated 10%. 28.6 indicated 20%. 42.9, 57.2, 71.5, 85.8, 100.1, 114.4, 128.7, and 143 percentage indications all hit there mark. Mind you, this is over and above what AEC wants. The AEC procedure says to check the fuel low light and full fuel indication only… Err, not me….

 

Edited June 13, 2013 by Spike