Ignoring the fuel gauge might not be a good idea.

Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe

Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe

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And, don't take off with one tank empty and only 30 minutes in the other.

This is what I found after pulling the right fuel tank. Don't know if the seam split in flight or on the ground (my landings weren't THAT bad).

 
We once had a stuck engine sump drain a whole tankload of gas onto the hangar floor. Thank Odin nobody smokes.
 
Here's what you need.

Flex-Seal-ca.jpg
 
The statement that the fuel gauge need only be accurate when on empty is one of the great aviation OWTs and results from a partial reading of CAR3/FAR 23.
 
If you use the clear stuff from the other commercial you won't even need the fuel gauge, You can just look and see how much fuel you have in the tank.
 
dell30rb said:
Here's what you need.

Flex-Seal-ca.jpg
Click to expand...

Haha, my roommate used that stuff to fix our toilet. The tank split in half after a recent cold snap. Landlord never bothered to show up and fix it. So my roommate duck tape the tank back together and sprayed that stuff to seal it. :yes:
 
ARFlyer said:
Haha, my roommate used that stuff to fix our toilet. The tank split in half after a recent cold snap. Landlord never bothered to show up and fix it. So my roommate duck tape the tank back together and sprayed that stuff to seal it. :yes:
Click to expand...

Between both products (seal and duct tape) everything is fixable now;)
 
steingar said:
We once had a stuck engine sump drain a whole tankload of gas onto the hangar floor. Thank Odin nobody smokes.
Click to expand...

True story, according to my Dad.

During WW2, my Dad was in a test squadron @ Patuxent River, Maryland. Their job was to fly Lockheed PV2's as many hours as they could to evaluate failure rates so the Navy could stock up on the right stuff for the planes after they went into the fleet. They turned into a glorified taxi service for all sorts of officers, basically.
These planes were fitted with 1,500 gallon ferry/patrol tanks. There was a sump valve on their plane that always leaked. About 5 gallons of 130 octane a day, on the days when it wasn't flying. The solution was to put a can under it with a funnel attached and collect it. Well, you shouldn't fly with that gas, should you?????
Solution. The Pilot drove a Packard automobile. Ran mighty fine on that avgas, too.
No matter how the mechanics tried, they just couldnt stop that leak. Nor leaks on the subsequent PV-2's that captain flew, either.
 
Keith Lane said:
True story, according to my Dad.

During WW2, my Dad was in a test squadron @ Patuxent River, Maryland. Their job was to fly Lockheed PV2's as many hours as they could to evaluate failure rates so the Navy could stock up on the right stuff for the planes after they went into the fleet. They turned into a glorified taxi service for all sorts of officers, basically.
These planes were fitted with 1,500 gallon ferry/patrol tanks. There was a sump valve on their plane that always leaked. About 5 gallons of 130 octane a day, on the days when it wasn't flying. The solution was to put a can under it with a funnel attached and collect it. Well, you shouldn't fly with that gas, should you?????
Solution. The Pilot drove a Packard automobile. Ran mighty fine on that avgas, too.
No matter how the mechanics tried, they just couldnt stop that leak. Nor leaks on the subsequent PV-2's that captain flew, either.
Click to expand...

And auto fuel was rationed...
 
Fuel gauges may be notoriously inaccurate but if you look at one and wonder "Why's it doing that?" you'd best land and find out.
 
Ok, Youtube is good at coming up with unrelated related videos - but when I watched the video of my fuel tank leaking, it came up with this one:


Really?
 
Clark1961 said:
And auto fuel was rationed...
Click to expand...


Exactly.
The captain always had a full tank. Just never admitted how much he drove the car. Dad said he was always careful to never, ever sell any of it to anybody. (Though he did give some away). He'd give other people rides when possible, but never took anything for the favor. Was a bit like the FAA rules of thday regarding renumeration, but with much harsher (think wartime) penalties. :hairraise:
 
It is a video of a gas leak. I think YouTube was right on target.
 
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