LANCECASPER Posted November 23 Author Report Posted November 23 12 hours ago, Bartman said: Is it possible that the fuel tank vent was clogged and played a role in fuel starvation ? On the other trouble-shooting post back on October 10 that was mentioned, but how far it was tracked down I don 't know.
Mooney in Oz Posted November 23 Report Posted November 23 7 hours ago, DCarlton said: For reference, here's a pic of my original '67 fuel vents. For the experts; any reason to not stick a pipe cleaner in there from time to time just to make sure they're clean and clear? Yes you could push something into the tank but what are the options? Haven't looked but I'm guessing you can't go at it easily from the inside. I wouldn’t go poking around in there with anything. For both sides, get some perfectly fitting thin clear tubing about 2 inches long, make two holes at one end, put a clip or key ring through the holes, then attach a long, red "Remove Before Flight" tag to both ends. Slip each over the vent tube ends, the same as you do with your pitot tube cover. If you don’t have time to make the covers, give your mechanic the RBF tags and ask him to make the tube covers. It would only take a couple of minutes. Apply and remove both at the same time as the pitot tube cover.
skykrawler Posted November 23 Report Posted November 23 A simple tank vent test could be to use a large syringe with a vinyl tube connected to the vent. Remove the fuel cap and listen at the opening. Rapidly compress the syringe - should should hear the air at the tank opening with little resistance on the syringe compression stroke.
201er Posted November 23 Report Posted November 23 7 hours ago, Mooney in Oz said: For both sides, get some perfectly fitting thin clear tubing about 2 inches long, make two holes at one end, put a clip or key ring through the holes, then attach a long, red "Remove Before Flight" tag to both ends. Slip each over the vent tube ends, the same as you do with your pitot tube cover. Probably more likely or just as likely to cause an accident as to prevent one which is why this isn’t common practice. 2
DCarlton Posted November 23 Report Posted November 23 1 hour ago, 201er said: Probably more likely or just as likely to cause an accident as to prevent one which is why this isn’t common practice. Would be interesting to conduct a poll and see how many people have taken off with their pitot covers on at least once. I'll admit I have... once; never again. Wouldn't want to do that with fuel vents covered.
toto Posted November 23 Report Posted November 23 18 minutes ago, DCarlton said: Would be interesting to conduct a poll and see how many people have taken off with their pitot covers on at least once. I'll admit I have... once; never again. Wouldn't want to do that with fuel vents covered. I don’t own a pitot cover, so it’s not often an issue for my ac, but I have a very ingrained habit to confirm and call out “airspeed alive” on takeoff roll. There’s no obvious equivalent check for fuel vent covers, but whatever RBF solution you implement would ideally be visible from the cockpit with a red flag or something. I’ve seen lots of different RBF concepts with little flag poles on them so you can do a visual check from the cockpit before engine start. I suppose you could even make a generic RBF flag that you stick on your propeller that says “fuel vent covers removed” or something - you grab that one last
201er Posted November 23 Report Posted November 23 1 hour ago, DCarlton said: Would be interesting to conduct a poll and see how many people have taken off with their pitot covers on at least once. I'll admit I have... once; never again. Wouldn't want to do that with fuel vents covered. I haven’t but I did once ask for $20 after watching a pilot (with passenger) start up to remove his pitot cover for him
Mooney in Oz Posted November 24 Report Posted November 24 10 hours ago, 201er said: Probably more likely or just as likely to cause an accident as to prevent one which is why this isn’t common practice. Well I haven't missed it in 26 years. If you can't spot two long red flags almost reaching the ground toward the front from under both wings during a walk around then take your chances that you don't have an insect blocking one of your vents. One of the last things I do before climbing aboard each flight is stand back facing the front of the aircraft checking that there are no flags, both fuel caps are fully closed and flush. Spruce also sells one. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pspages/nelsonproducts3.php?clickkey=3079770 Another option I haven't seen in years that could work is a small screen cover.
mike_elliott Posted Monday at 05:13 PM Report Posted Monday at 05:13 PM The Mooney Summit has reached out to Janice, Frederick’s wife. She wants to thank everyone who has supported the Bill Gilliland foundation and our efforts to help down Mooney pilots families. 2 2
Shadrach Posted Monday at 06:34 PM Report Posted Monday at 06:34 PM On 11/23/2025 at 11:10 AM, DCarlton said: Would be interesting to conduct a poll and see how many people have taken off with their pitot covers on at least once. I'll admit I have... once; never again. Wouldn't want to do that with fuel vents covered. I have never forgotten one, but I did have an "auto-opening" pitot cap stick in the down position on a night departure in a rented C172. I had two passengers on board and the RTB combined with me getting out, twisting that cheesy cover off the pitot tube and throwing it into the woods really scared the back seater. The rest of the flight was uneventful, but we nearly scrubbed the second departure because she was so rattled over that stupid thing. 1 1
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