Pilot Follows GPS - Lands on Road

This is so funny I could say so much about this but he might be a FO at Ameriflight next month so I'll keep my mouth shut.
 
December 3, 2011
Same flight school different week, this one ran out of fuel right AFTER departure.

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Story Here: http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2011/12/cirrus-sr20-n486da-plane-with-engine.html



 
One FBO I worked at looooong ago had a student in a Cherokee take off and then have to put it down into a corn field when he ran out of gas shortly thereafter. That student took off with full fuel.

"Well, how on earth do you know it was full and how could it possibly run out that fast?", you might ask (in your favorite John King voice impersonation for added effect).

The silly student had visually checked the fuel quantity like every good pilot should, but then didn't put the caps back on....doh!

It was a good lesson in bernouli's principle when the low pressure on top of the wing sucked all the gas out of the tanks. How he didn't "see" this happening in a Cherokee, where you look right out at the top of the wings, is awesome.
 
I once lost a fuel cap off a cirrus in flight. Honestly I have no idea if I forgot it on pre flight, didn't tighten it correctly or some damn bird stole it. Anyways I noticed it was missing about an hour into the flight, I informed my instructor immediately and we decided to continue flying and monitor the fuel gauges etc. As we flew along you could not see anything streaming out of the tank. We flew for about another hour and landed uneventfully. When we got topped off we had used almost no additional gas. It blew my mind because I also assumed benouli would have sucked it all out in a short time.

Also the cap was never found on the ramp so I am somewhat sure I put it back where it belonged after pre flight.
 
I have also lost a fuel cap in flight, more then once actually. I have never had an issue with lost fuel due to pressure differentials between the tank and the slipstream.
 
X-Forces said:
I have also lost a fuel cap in flight, more then once actually. I have never had an issue with lost fuel due to pressure differentials between the tank and the slipstream.
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Makes me wonder if it is aircraft specific or if it is just an old wives tale.
Perhaps I should email mythbusters and suggest they test this.
 
FlyingMoose said:
Makes me wonder if it is aircraft specific or if it is just an old wives tale.
Perhaps I should email mythbusters and suggest they test this.
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I think the boys over at Mythbusters have been grounded until they come up with an explanation for last week's cannonball incident.
 
If one thinks about it, the only way it would loose fuel is if there is enough wind blowing into or through the tank.

It's not as if there is a straw dipped into the fuel with the open end out in the low pressure air to literally 'suck' the fuel out. The filler opening is exposed to the low pressure as well, so the ambient pressure of the tank should essentially normalize. Unless a vent from a higher pressure area (like under a cessna's wing) allows rapid air movement into the tank causing a splashing effect, or interrupted air around the filler opening literally blows turbulent air into the tank, then the liquid fuel should be relatively undisturbed.

Tonight if I get a chance I'll see if I can find the NTSB report on the one I mentioned above.
 
tomokc said:
I think the boys over at Mythbusters have been grounded until they come up with an explanation for last week's cannonball incident.
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What is the line the commander uses when such things happen and they hit the press big time? "It was just a slow news day."
 
MikeOH58 said:
Ugh, another idiot cirrus pilot that continues to give a bad name to the rest of us who have to fly this airplane. Way to go!
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My thoughts exactly. People do stupid crap in every kind of aircraft, the Cirrus just allows stupid people to think they are getting away with it. It doesn't matter what kind of aircraft you are in. A smart pilot who takes this business of flying seriously takes the responsibility upon himself/herself to learn how to do it properly starting with the basics.
I did all my primary training in an SR-20, it’s the plane my father owns and the plane I get to fly for the price of fuel. So yeah, I’m gonna fly the hell out of it, same as I would if it was a 152 or Luscombe for that matter. It’s an airplane and I have access to it.
When I did things such as my solo XC the MFD was on a blank page, the 430 was there to tune radios, a paper map was on my lap and the compass was my GPS.
It’s up to YOU how seriously you take your training whether in a 152 or a Cirrus. You can plan your entire flight on the iPad, load up all your waypoints into the 430 and fly the magenta line but you are cheating yourself and everyone who may ever fly with you and if that’s the kind of pilot you want to be than it sucks to be you.
 
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