Page 13 - Volume 20 Number 9

R.C.Av i o n i C s
Exceeding the standards
Trustworthy Competent
35 Years Experience
Up-Grade Specialist
www.rcavionics.com 763-398-3920
landings (see www.thomaspturner. net/Fuel.htm). I expect that this is common to all types of aircraft. Many pilots, however, swear by achieving maximum-range flight by running all but the last fuel tank completely dry. For those who employ this risk- management strategy, be aware that the possibility does exist that air in the fuel lines or other factors may prevent the engine from restarting after your intentional engine failure. Just because you’ve successfully used the dry-tank routine for years does not mean it can’t happen the next time.
Let’s put this discussion in the context of twin and turbine-powered airplanes. Most modern twin-engine airplanes have simpler fuel systems than many piston airplanes. And, logically, fuel starvation is unlikely to occur simultaneously to both engines in a twin – you’d expect to have time to recover from a one-engine outage before being faced with starvation in the other.
However, we still read reports of fuel starvation in multi-engine airplanes when the pilot attempts to take off, maneuver in the airport traffic pattern for landing, or begin a go- around or missed approach when auxiliary fuel tanks are selected (every aircraft auxiliary tank I’ve ever seen carries a limitation against use in other than level flight). So, be sure to set and check your fuel selectors properly before takeoff and again for descent and landing, to avoid inadvertently running tanks dry (or at least unporting the fuel) at a point from where there’s no room to recover.
In a more normal, but range- extending, context, intentionally running a fuel tank dry still crops up as a piloting tactic. Pilots who advocate this strategy usually tell me they can anticipate within a few minutes when the tank will empty and the power gauges “twitch” and go dark. I respond that if the pilot can tell the tank will completely
SEPTEMBER 2016
TWIN & TURBINE • 11