Midlife crisis... going to buy a helicopter...

[phill4paul]

Glad you were able to walk away, CA. Damn, did ya have to change your britches?

[Anti Federalist]

In my limited time of flying so far, (I have 485 hrs TT), I have TWICE had an FBO fuel guy not put the fuel caps back on correctly on a 172

I've seen that a few times myself, not to me, but to other pilots. An FBO in Key West overfilled me one time and led to a dicey trim and weight situation, with four people and assorted souvenirs.

I see you're still racking up the hours...everything still going well?

[Danke]

I've seen that a few times myself, not to me, but to other pilots. An FBO in Key West overfilled me one time and led to a dicey trim and weight situation, with four people and assorted souvenirs.

I see you're still racking up the hours...everything still going well?

Overfilled in Key West...

[osan]

Never did any rotary wing in the seat. It's always been $$$.

Good luck with it, and may you never experience VRS.

[jllundqu]

I've flown the Beechcraft Bonanza, a German Extra 300L Unlimited Class, and a "Pitts" Special.... I've also flown a Kiowa OH-58, but only for about 30 min. I never considered buying or building one though.... that's too much.

Best of luck and glad you didn't eat your rotors on that crash. "Any crash you can walk away from..." and all that.

[osan]

More fun than a new vette......

Cheaper, too. $140K for a Chevy. What idiot does that?

[osan]

That's awesome man, congratz. Ill be buying a Cessna later on in life =)

I made a bad move in '02 when I passed up a Lancair for $58k. Built by an old Boeing engineer, everything was perfect. Even had an MT screw.

Lately I've been jonesing to fly again. Perhaps one of these days.

[ChristianAnarchist]

Yup, we're on the same page here, that was my thinking as well...

Damn, I am sorry brother, but I hope you can get everything back together.

When you do, a big red addition to the preflight check list: Check that fuel caps are secured properly and tight.

You can bet on that. Also I'm wondering if there is a fuel pressure gauge that will show pressures in the .01 - 2 lb range...

Post incident, were you able to get an accurate accounting of how much fuel was in that tank?

I have not tried that yet but the tanks are secure now with caps in place and all under cover. The tank that had the cap off was drained to the opening when on it's side and the other tank was leaking small amount of fuel from the vent but I'd guess there is at least 15 gallons remaining (out of the 40 that was in there after fill up). I actually tried to crank it up last night but the battery was too weak and I have other things on my mind right now (like our trip to Alaska Saturday). Just looking at the pics the guy at the factory says it can be rebuilt for between $40 - $80k. If I could be sure it would be near the $40k mark I just might do it. It's not worth much as it sits.

[Anti Federalist]

You can bet on that. Also I'm wondering if there is a fuel pressure gauge that will show pressures in the .01 - 2 lb range...

Here's one 0-15 psi with a pretty large discrete dial...might work.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BWCFLO..._t1_B001O0C396

Here's an aviation model 0-5 psi

http://www.chiefaircraft.com/uma-3-102-50.html

The description is:

2 1/4" Fuel Pressure Gauge
Range: 0-5 psi
Dial Markings: B&W
Weight: 4.7oz

I have not tried that yet but the tanks are secure now with caps in place and all under cover. The tank that had the cap off was drained to the opening when on it's side and the other tank was leaking small amount of fuel from the vent but I'd guess there is at least 15 gallons remaining (out of the 40 that was in there after fill up). I actually tried to crank it up last night but the battery was too weak and I have other things on my mind right now (like our trip to Alaska Saturday). Just looking at the pics the guy at the factory says it can be rebuilt for between $40 - $80k. If I could be sure it would be near the $40k mark I just might do it. It's not worth much as it sits.

Enjoy Alaska...worry about it when you get home.

[Anti Federalist]

Overfilled in Key West...

[ChristianAnarchist]

I've flown the Beechcraft Bonanza, a German Extra 300L Unlimited Class, and a "Pitts" Special.... I've also flown a Kiowa OH-58, but only for about 30 min. I never considered buying or building one though.... that's too much.

Best of luck and glad you didn't eat your rotors on that crash. "Any crash you can walk away from..." and all that.

Thanks to you and everyone who has sent me well wishes. There certainly could have been a worse outcome. On the plus side I now know that even I can do an emergency auto-rotation when required...

[Danke]

Midlife crisis?

It would be more economical to just get some hookers and blow.

Toldja.

[ChristianAnarchist]

Here's one 0-15 psi with a pretty large discrete dial...might work.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BWCFLO..._t1_B001O0C396

Here's an aviation model 0-5 psi

http://www.chiefaircraft.com/uma-3-102-50.html

The description is:

2 1/4" Fuel Pressure Gauge
Range: 0-5 psi
Dial Markings: B&W
Weight: 4.7oz

Great! If I rebuild it one of these will be on the list of modifications. If I had some way of seeing weather fuel pressure was lower than normal I certainly could have set down sooner at a better site.

[Matt Collins]

Overfilled in Key West...

eewww

[Matt Collins]

I've seen that a few times myself, not to me, but to other pilots. An FBO in Key West overfilled me one time and led to a dicey trim and weight situation, with four people and assorted souvenirs.

Yeah, I was supposed to do a spin flight yesterday but couldnt because the FBO had filled the tanks all the way up, I guess they didn't get the memo

I see you're still racking up the hours...everything still going well?

It's come to a crawl at this point. Couldn't find work, so I decided to start working towards my CFI. Of course halfway through it I get 2 job offers... figures....

But yeah, trying to climb up to 1500hrs to get in the right seat of the airlines. Should be there in roughly a year.

[Anti Federalist]

Great! If I rebuild it one of these will be on the list of modifications. If I had some way of seeing weather fuel pressure was lower than normal I certainly could have set down sooner at a better site.

What kind of engine is it?

I know, from reading so far that it is carberated and naturally aspirated. What kind of fuel pump?

You know, if you can determine that this was the cause, it seems that primary pressure issues causing a failure like this would be too hazardous to continue flying without modifications.

I'm thinking a low pressure primary fuel pump might be a needed modification.

Is it rated "EXPERIMENTAL"?

[Danke]

Yeah, I was supposed to do a spin flight yesterday but couldnt because the FBO had filled the tanks all the way up, I guess they didn't get the memo

It's come to a crawl at this point. Couldn't find work, so I decided to start working towards my CFI. Of course halfway through it I get 2 job offers... figures....

But yeah, trying to climb up to 1500hrs to get in the right seat of the airlines. Should be there in roughly a year.

Do a lot of aerobatics. Most Civilian pilots lack the skill to recover from an upset. Air France 447 being a prime example.

[Anti Federalist]

But yeah, trying to climb up to 1500hrs to get in the right seat of the airlines. Should be there in roughly a year.

Have you taken the ATP exam already, or do you need to have the hours first before they will let you test?

[Anti Federalist]

Do a lot of aerobatics. Most Civilian pilots lack the skill to recover from an upset. Air France 447 being a prime example.

Why the $#@! didn't they get their nose down? The VDR shows them struggling hard just to maintain straight and level flight.

Isn't there a SOG GPS output? Would have been better than no speed indication at all.

On a fully integrated computerized nav suite, is there still a manual and independent artificial horizon, altimeter, compass and rate of turn indicator?

[Danke]

Have you taken the ATP exam already, or do you need to have the hours first before they will let you test?

You need the hours

[Matt Collins]

Have you taken the ATP exam already, or do you need to have the hours first before they will let you test?

Pretty much the airlines pay for you to do this nowadays when they hire you. So once I get to 1500 and get hired, they'll put me through an ATP/CTP course and then I take the test.

[Anti Federalist]

Pretty much the airlines pay for you to do this nowadays when they hire you. So once I get to 1500 and get hired, they'll put me through an ATP/CTP course and then I take the test.

Oh, ok...good deal.

[ChristianAnarchist]

What kind of engine is it?

I know, from reading so far that it is carberated and naturally aspirated. What kind of fuel pump?

You know, if you can determine that this was the cause, it seems that primary pressure issues causing a failure like this would be too hazardous to continue flying without modifications.

I'm thinking a low pressure primary fuel pump might be a needed modification.

Is it rated "EXPERIMENTAL"?

It's a homebuilt Safari 400 with a Lycoming HO360. There is no fuel pump as it's gravity fed. If I rebuild it there will be some fuel delivery improvements for sure. It worked great for 340 hours though...

I wonder if there's a zero resistance fuel pump for a gravity fed system. Something that will allow fuel to flow by gravity means when the pump is off but give a very positive boost when on. A turbine type pump would work in this manner..

This one might work but it really doesn't say what mechanism is involved.
http://www.chiefaircraft.com/fct-478...FQS1wAodMTEBgA
As long as fuel can flow through the pump with the pump off then I could have the best of both worlds. I can have the pump on when flying but if the pump fails for some reason the engine would still run normally and a fuel pressure gauge would indicate that I'm running on gravity feed and need to have the pump serviced...

[tod evans]

It's a homebuilt Safari 400 with a Lycoming HO360. There is no fuel pump as it's gravity fed. If I rebuild it there will be some fuel delivery improvements for sure. It worked great for 340 hours though...

I wonder if there's a zero resistance fuel pump for a gravity fed system. Something that will allow fuel to flow by gravity means when the pump is off but give a very positive boost when on. A turbine type pump would work in this manner..

This one might work but it really doesn't say what mechanism is involved.
http://www.chiefaircraft.com/fct-478...FQS1wAodMTEBgA
As long as fuel can flow through the pump with the pump off then I could have the best of both worlds. I can have the pump on when flying but if the pump fails for some reason the engine would still run normally and a fuel pressure gauge would indicate that I'm running on gravity feed and need to have the pump serviced...

Run 2 lines with one way valves.

Redundancy is pretty important...

[ChristianAnarchist]

Run 2 lines with one way valves.

Redundancy is pretty important...

Good idea but I wonder about the one way valves after a couple of years of use. A spinning turbine type pump would provide boost but if it failed the fuel would still flow. If I can find one of these that's what I'll use. Perhaps at Oshkosh I'll find someone who can point me in the right direction.

[ChristianAnarchist]

This fuel pump is rotary but it's an auto pump. Being an "experimental" aircraft, it could be used...

https://www.cbperformance.com/product-p/3193.htm