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For our example Baron 58, the ONE ENGINE INOPER- ATIVE OPERATION ON CROSSFEED checklist starts with a note repeating that limitation, then says:
Left engine inoperative
1. Right Fuel Boost Pump – LOW
2. Left Fuel Selector – OFF
3. Right Fuel Selector – CROSSFEED
4. Right Fuel Boost Pump – LOW or OFF as required
There is a similar checklist for when the right engine is inoperative.
Often, the AFM/POH gives us a checklist for getting the engine into crossfeed, but it does not provide guidance for getting out of it. I teach the exit by starting at the bottom of the checklist for the inoperative engine and working your way back up in reverse order, i.e., starting at step 4, then steps 3, 2, and 1, turning the boost pump on LOW at the beginning and OFF at the end. Talk to type-experienced instructors, or look at the AFM/POH for the twin you fly and see what works best in that type. The good news is that, whether entering or exiting crossfeed, none of this is so time-critical that you must do anything from memory. Pull out the checklist, review what you’re going to do be- fore you do it, then perform the procedure step by step.
So when would you use crossfeed? For almost all of us, almost never. If you lose an engine anywhere in the conti- nental United States, there will almost always be a suitable airport within one-engine range using that engine’s normal main fuel tank. Pilots flying in the Australian Outback or someone ferrying a twin across the ocean or remote parts of Africa or Asia, Canada, Alaska, or South America may have different circumstances and a need to extend the airplane’s range or balance the fuel load before landing. It’s possible even in the mainland U.S., you were at just a bit more than an hour of fuel remaining (total for both sides) and just about to land when an engine quit, and to get to better weather, you decide to divert to a nearby airport. In this case, you might choose to operate in crossfeed for a short while to avoid a very low fuel level on the main tank for descent and landing. But that seems much less likely, at least to me.
If you do use crossfeed, use it in level flight. Before you begin descent, exit crossfeed and use the main tank on the same side as the running engine to avoid unporting and interruption of fuel flow to the one engine that is still earning its keep. All this, of course, unless otherwise directed in the AFM/POH for the airplane you fly.
Flying a multiengine airplane gives you options unavail- able to the single-engine pilot. It also requires you to con- sider whether, when and how to execute those options.
Thomas P. Turner is the author of the FLYING LESSONS Weekly blog (www.thomaspturner.com) that inspires pilots to pursue Mastery of Flight.TM A prolific writer, speaker and flight instructor, Tom has been inducted into the National Flight Instructor Hall of Fame.
February 2024 / TWIN & TURBINE • 23