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View Poll Results: How do you like your fuel?
I'll pump my own fuel thank you! 129 72.88%
I can't be bothered with manual labor so I have someone else do it! 0 0%
I don't care as long as it's cheap! 48 27.12%
Voters: 177. You may not vote on this poll

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  #1  
Old 08-23-2011, 05:29 PM
Sid Lambert Sid Lambert is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: North Atlanta
Posts: 1,120
Default I'll pump my own fuel Thank You!

Is it just me or do you guys avoid getting fuel at airports without self-service?

I cringe when they place the cap on the wing or when they wedge the filler nozzle from left to right in the filler hole. Most FBOs are great but I'm just picky.
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  #2  
Old 08-23-2011, 05:32 PM
Kyle Boatright Kyle Boatright is online now
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 4,219
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sid Lambert View Post
Is it just me or do you guys avoid getting fuel at airports without self-service?

I cringe when they place the cap on the wing or when they wedge the filler nozzle from left to right in the filler hole. Most FBOs are great but I'm just picky.
Any airports that are particularly bothersome?

I think it is a training issue - bad habits passed down from generation to generation of line guys and gals.
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Kyle Boatright
Marietta, GA
2001 RV-6 N46KB
2019(?) RV-10
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  #3  
Old 08-23-2011, 05:47 PM
mrreddick mrreddick is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Hangar/home at Hicks Airfield (T67), Fort Worth, TX
Posts: 629
Default FBO's

On a recent round trip from DFW to Chesapeake, VA, we made 6 fuel stops and 4 had no self service. The only FBO that DIDN'T spill fuel all over my wings was one near Sid & Kyle's "neck of the woods" as my daddy used to say. Habersham County (?) at Cornelia took care and did it right!
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Ft Worth, TX (T67)
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  #4  
Old 08-23-2011, 05:55 PM
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jbagley jbagley is offline
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Aloha, or
Posts: 282
Default

I heard a story of a 172 pilot that had crashed because they didn't put enough fuel in his airplane...

He parked on a slope, left the fuel selector on both and asked the line man to fill er up while he went to get his $100 hamburger. The line man filled the uphill tank first and got distracted by something. The fuel cross fed into the downhill tank leaving the uphill tank near empty. The line man went to fill up the downhill tank and didn't think anything of it that it didn't take as much fuel as the other tank. The pilot didn't bother to check fuel levels before taking off and cessna fuel gauges are notoriously inaccurate....

I don't know if that's a real story or an urban myth. I could certainly see it happening.
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  #5  
Old 08-23-2011, 05:59 PM
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mannanj mannanj is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Mtns of N.E. Georgia
Posts: 1,322
Default Fuel

Quote:
Originally Posted by mrreddick View Post
On a recent round trip from DFW to Chesapeake, VA, we made 6 fuel stops and 4 had no self service. The only FBO that DIDN'T spill fuel all over my wings was one near Sid & Kyle's "neck of the woods" as my daddy used to say. Habersham County (?) at Cornelia took care and did it right!
Habersham Co. KAJR, my home base! Glad to hear they treated you right!
Jim, the FBO there has flown RV's and understands how much we "baby" our planes.
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Mannan J.Thomason, MSGT. USAF (RET)
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  #6  
Old 08-23-2011, 06:09 PM
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fl-mike fl-mike is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,346
Default

First time I let someone else fill it was the first time I got a chip in the paint. Thanks Naples.
Now I stand there while they do it, if it has to be.
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Venice, FL
RV-6A. Mattituck TMX O-360, FP, GRT Sport EFIS, L3 Lynx NGT-9000
N164WM
N184WM reserved (RV-8)....finishing kit in progress. Titan IOX-370
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  #7  
Old 08-23-2011, 06:16 PM
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L.Adamson L.Adamson is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: KSLC
Posts: 4,021
Default

I have tough paint, and have spilled fuel on the wing myself....

I usually pull the caps off, if I'm around, and re-check them before flight. The truck gives us a better deal at my home airport.

L.Adamson --- RV6A

Last edited by L.Adamson : 08-23-2011 at 07:07 PM. Reason: change "it" to fuel
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  #8  
Old 08-23-2011, 06:26 PM
joe gremlin's Avatar
joe gremlin joe gremlin is offline
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Southwest Michigan
Posts: 180
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by jbagley View Post

I don't know if that's a real story or an urban myth. I could certainly see it happening.
My vote would be urban myth. Lots of Cessnas will indeed crossfeed if you park on a slope with the selector on both. But it takes a very long time. In the time it takes to have lunch I wouldn't expect more than a gallon or two to transfer.

Plus the details just don't add up. You can't move most of the fuel (i.e. enough to leave it 'nearly empty') from one tank to the other without the second tank being empty or nearly so. And if so, the downhill tank wouldn't have taken any fuel when the fueler returned to top it off. Just doesn't add up.
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  #9  
Old 08-23-2011, 06:57 PM
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RV7Guy RV7Guy is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Chandler, AZ
Posts: 2,904
Default Oversight

I have no problem with having someone else put fuel in, but I monitor the process. I have found that most FBO's will go out of their way to get things right. Heck, I've ran more fuel over my wings than they have

Let's take a different look at this. Most line folks are young people working their way into the aviation system. I take this time to talk with them, see what their plans are, going to school etc... It is amazing how much enthusiasm they have and how excited they get talking to the pilot/owners. For me, possibly making a difference in a young persons life is worth the few cents a gallon more. Plus, some have some great stories!!!
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Chandler AZ
www.JDair.com
RV-7 N717EE-Flying (Sold)
RV-7 N717AZ Flying, in paint
EMS Bell 407,
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  #10  
Old 08-23-2011, 07:18 PM
Peterk Peterk is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,378
Default RV12

Of course if you have a twelve you have to demand that you pump your own. With the fuel inlet next to the Lexan back window you cannot afford to spill gas on it or it crazes before your eyes. Additionally, because of the bend in the fuel inlet, anything over 6 gallons/minute will come shooting back out. I have had linemen tell me I'm not allowed to pump my own until I tell them what a new Lexan window from Van's runs.
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