Declaring Minimum Fuel

[avbug]

I can't believe anybody here hasn't mentioned declaring minimum fuel while holding in line for takeoff, in a 20 series learjet.

Nobody has ever done that?

After 45 minutes of holding at PHX once, I did that, and then got out of line to go back and get more fuel...we burned up far more than our reserves just moving up the line.

 

[Lead Sled]

Thanks for reminding me.

I can't believe anybody here hasn't mentioned declaring minimum fuel while holding in line for takeoff, in a 20 series learjet.

Nobody has ever done that?

After 45 minutes of holding at PHX once, I did that, and then got out of line to go back and get more fuel...we burned up far more than our reserves just moving up the line.

I had to do it once at Harrisburg. There was a ground stop and they kept telling us that they expected our release "shortly". We ended up having to taxi-back to refuel. As I remember, the 20s burned the same amount of fuel idling on the ground as they did at FL410.

With a 20 series Lear the drill was to top it off, start and taxi out, get airborne, then advise ATC that you had a fuel emergency in progress.

'Sled

 

[apdsm]

FAR's have nothing to do with safety, they are a minimum standard there to protect the US Government from liability. Good procedures and manuals and pilot standardization have everything to do with safety and are very important.

Do you mean like getting below 800lbs, shutting down one engine and transferrring fuel to one tank in a standardized manner? Sounds to me like you just made the case FAR's!

Once you get below 800 lbs it was considered prudent to shut one engine down and transfer the fuel to one tank and land on one. If you had to go around you had plenty of fuel for the one engine.

I hope this did not happen often...