PTK Posted June 28, 2020 Report Share Posted June 28, 2020 About six years ago there was an M20K that ran out of fuel and crashed a mile short of the runway at GED. Engine stopped on the base to final turn. According to the report 7 gal total fuel was drained out. No mention how much in each tank. I always wondered is there a minimum fuel quantity below which the engine can run out of fuel in a bank or otherwise? My POH makes no mention of anything related to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N201MKTurbo Posted June 29, 2020 Report Share Posted June 29, 2020 If your turn is coordinated, it shouldn't matter. If you slip, the fuel could slosh around in the tank. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PT20J Posted June 29, 2020 Report Share Posted June 29, 2020 All aircraft have unusable fuel. The fuel pickup in each tank is slightly above the lowest point to avoid picking up contaminants. For the M20K, the TCDS lists unusable fuel as 48.59 lbs. or about 8 gal. Remember that the ‘E’ on the fuel gauge doesn’t mean ‘Enough’. Skip 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted June 29, 2020 Report Share Posted June 29, 2020 Peter, Know where your fuel pick-ups are... They have been strategically placed at the back of the tank... close to the cabin... This gives you the opportunity to have good fuel flow in the T/O and climb... Staying coordinated is Good... Staying nose up is good... Nose down, and your plane gets quiet... it may be hard to even know the engine has quit... Making attitude changes or tank changes will Still take up many seconds before any fuel arrives at the engine... PP thoughts only, something I learned on a brief maintenance flight... Best regards, -a- 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrynimmo Posted June 29, 2020 Report Share Posted June 29, 2020 My J model lists only 2.5 gallons as unusable...I thought the K has the same wing 1981 M20J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PTK Posted June 29, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2020 9 hours ago, PT20J said: All aircraft have unusable fuel. I was referring to usable fuel. The unusable doesn’t enter in the calculations. My question was is there's a minimum usable level? iow, is 100% of usable actually usable? Referring back to that M20K accident I mentioned, where did that 7 gal total that was drained come from? Was it part of the usable that couldn’t make it to the pickups or part of the unusable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb Posted June 29, 2020 Report Share Posted June 29, 2020 From Section II Limitations of the Ovation 2 GX AFM (original release 12-11-07): FUEL LIMITATIONS -WARNING- Takeoff maneuvers when the selected fuel tank contains less than 12 gallons (45.4 liters) of fuel have not been demonstrated. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yetti Posted June 29, 2020 Report Share Posted June 29, 2020 Three rules for flying. Always land with an hour of fuel remaining, Don't fly through front lines. No single engine pistons in the Colorado Rockies Mtns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob - S50 Posted June 29, 2020 Report Share Posted June 29, 2020 3 hours ago, PTK said: I was referring to usable fuel. The unusable doesn’t enter in the calculations. My question was is there's a minimum usable level? iow, is 100% of usable actually usable? Referring back to that M20K accident I mentioned, where did that 7 gal total that was drained come from? Was it part of the usable that couldn’t make it to the pickups or part of the unusable? Yes, 100% of usable is usable, at least in level flight it is. On my J not only will it burn all the usable fuel, it will burn a bit over half of the unusable. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil EF Posted June 30, 2020 Report Share Posted June 30, 2020 Five of the seven gallons drained was not-usable. Attitude, variation of pickup tubes are likely accountable for the other two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steingar Posted June 30, 2020 Report Share Posted June 30, 2020 Of course, the other thing is we're supposed to change to the tank that's got our reserves along hopefully with some more fuel yet again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kortopates Posted June 30, 2020 Report Share Posted June 30, 2020 On 6/29/2020 at 6:32 AM, Bob - S50 said: Yes, 100% of usable is usable, at least in level flight it is. On my J not only will it burn all the usable fuel, it will burn a bit over half of the unusable. Good to know Bob. Also there was a fuel exhaustion emergency in an M20E over WA popularized by an AOPA ASI video, something like "Trapped on top?" that demonstrated that you get to more of the unusable fuel by pitching up to climb attitude. The fuel pick up is towards the back of the tank, so after our M20E pilot had run out of fuel in level flight, as well as in the descent, he glided till he almost had the emergency field made except for a jet blast barrier in front of the runway. He pulled the nose up to avoid impact with the barrier and as he did the fuel pickup found fuel and the engine came to life to clear the barrier and land on the over side! I wouldn't count on it, but something to remember..... 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.