Student Engine Out Goes Right

NordicDave

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He kind of glosses over the running out of fuel part in the videos, but he does readily admit it in the description on the one where he discusses it; certainly a nice outcome under pressure.
 
I can't figure out how it's possible to run out of fuel in a C150 on a 2 to 2 1/2-hour flight. Unless he only took off with 2 1/2 hours of fuel which would be mind blowingly stupid.
 
please add "student runs out of fuel and cons the aviation youtube world into thinking he's a hero while getting tons of traffic to his attention seeking youtube channel" to your tags

Wow. He's quite the....something.

https://brianparsley.com/

From his youtube page:

Brian Parsley Speaker is making new friends everywhere he goes with his mask (less) mask. There’s an entire series on his TickTock channel and follow on Instagram. See more of Brian Parsley at... WEBSITE: https://brianparsley.com INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/brianparsle... LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianpars... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/brianparsley FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/brianparsley... In his speaking engagements, Brian Parsley delves into what it’s like to be an incredible resource for your clients. Brian discusses his relationships with industry leaders and why he approaches each relationship with a mindset of building rapport and adding intrinsic value. Brian's years of experience as a successful repeat entrepreneur are a valuable source of insights. BUSINESS INQUIRIES Please visit https://brianparsley.com/book-brian/
 
I don't want to sound overly critical, so all I will say is I'm glad the field wasn't too soft because he came in HOT :) Great outcome on this one nonetheless.
 
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He said his oil pressure dropped. Not sure if that was before the engine quitting, or after.
 
Wow. He's quite the....something.

https://brianparsley.com/

From his youtube page:

Brian Parsley Speaker is making new friends everywhere he goes with his mask (less) mask. There’s an entire series on his TickTock channel and follow on Instagram. See more of Brian Parsley at... WEBSITE: https://brianparsley.com INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/brianparsle... LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianpars... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/brianparsley FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/brianparsley... In his speaking engagements, Brian Parsley delves into what it’s like to be an incredible resource for your clients. Brian discusses his relationships with industry leaders and why he approaches each relationship with a mindset of building rapport and adding intrinsic value. Brian's years of experience as a successful repeat entrepreneur are a valuable source of insights. BUSINESS INQUIRIES Please visit https://brianparsley.com/book-brian/
??? What that got to do with this
 
Does he live in a van down by the river?
 
When the engine runs out of fuel, the oil pressure generally drifts to zero in a short period of time.

It wasn't clear from the video if the oil pressure dropped first, and then the engine quit, or the other way around.
The prop also came to a stop, which is a bit unusual if you simply run out of fuel. That usually indicates a mechanical problem.
 
It wasn't clear from the video if the oil pressure dropped first, and then the engine quit, or the other way around.
The prop also came to a stop, which is a bit unusual if you simply run out of fuel. That usually indicates a mechanical problem.

The student pilot in question he wrote clear as day that he ran out of fuel. The Flightaware track also shows the aircraft flying back to the airport several hours after the incident.
 
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People today are fat. My flight school can't keep the 150's tanked topped up, too many people would be flying over gross weight. They probably keep 10-15 gallons in them most of the time. So taking off with 2.5 hrs of fuel was SOP where i trained. It ment you had to have them topped off if flying solo or doing a cross country.
I can't figure out how it's possible to run out of fuel in a C150 on a 2 to 2 1/2-hour flight. Unless he only took off with 2 1/2 hours of fuel which would be mind blowingly stupid.
 
People today are fat. My flight school can't keep the 150's tanked topped up, too many people would be flying over gross weight. They probably keep 10-15 gallons in them most of the time. So taking off with 2.5 hrs of fuel was SOP where i trained. It ment you had to have them topped off if flying solo or doing a cross country.

Having instructed in C150s for 8 years I am well aware of their weight limitations. The student was solo and unless he weighs 400 pounds there was no excuse not to fill it up. Like I said, mind blowingly stupid.
 
People today are fat. My flight school can't keep the 150's tanked topped up, too many people would be flying over gross weight. They probably keep 10-15 gallons in them most of the time. So taking off with 2.5 hrs of fuel was SOP where i trained. It ment you had to have them topped off if flying solo or doing a cross country.

My club keeps our 150 at 7 aside to prevent fuel from draining out of the vents. Not only wasteful but can be fined by the airport. The 172 doesn’t have the same issue.

Now, I will top it off before flying though. Not sure what this guy was thinking. Might have been a stunt to get more views on his YT channel?
 
The student pilot in question he wrote clear as day that he ran out of fuel. The Flightaware track also shows the aircraft flying back to the airport several hours after the incident.
Yes, I see that now. The VAS aviation video made no mention of fuel.
 
In his follow-up debrief video it looks like he has about a quart sized fuel sampler. Wonder if he poured it back into the tanks or dumped it? LoL

 
In his follow-up debrief video it looks like he has about a quart sized fuel sampler. Wonder if he poured it back into the tanks or dumped it? LoL



The title of this story should be "student pilot runs out of fuel and makes a successful landing".

The story presented first was that the engine had a malfunction. There was an even an article on Plane & Pilot magazine that made no mention of fuel exhaustion. I feel cheated after learning the real story.
 
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In his follow-up debrief video it looks like he has about a quart sized fuel sampler. Wonder if he poured it back into the tanks or dumped it? LoL


That could have been the difference. I use a sampler like that, the are great.
 
Well if you ask me something doesn't add up here. How does a student pilot, on his long x-country, supervised and approved by his CFI, run out of gas? He knows how much fuel he starts off with, he knows the fuel burn of the aircraft and he's got a watch. His explanation is pretty weak but then I suppose he's pretty busy reading all the adoring, gushy, "you're a hero" YT comments. I could maybe understand if there was a problem such as fuel venting overboard or a massive leak but doesn't appear to be so.

But yea, an extra quart and he probably would have made it - this time....
 
Maybe he didn’t lean mixture right or at all


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Maybe he didn’t lean mixture right or at all

It's a C-150, you're going to flight plan for 6 gph. A student on x-country isn't going to plan for having to lean the mixture exactly right just to make it to the destination. Same goes for wind, the whole point of doing this is to learn how to watch what's going on and figure it out. This guy gets a big fat F
 
It's a C-150, you're going to flight plan for 6 gph. A student on x-country isn't going to plan for having to lean the mixture exactly right just to make it to the destination. Same goes for wind, the whole point of doing this is to learn how to watch what's going on and figure it out. This guy gets a big fat F

Never flown a 150 so not sure what the gph are but if he was nervous he could have been focused on everything else and forgot to lean. What is fuel burn fuel rich on a 150? Another .5 gallon and he would have made it but no reserve. May not be the issue, could be poor planning but if that’s the case the CFI has skin in the game too


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I don't think the CFI has any skin in this game. It looks too much like a YouTube special.

My CFI never checked the gauges or dip sticked the tanks for any solo flight that I made.
 
My CFI went through what fuel requirements I needed and verified I had what I said I needed before I left. Maybe my CFI was different


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Never flown a 150 so not sure what the gph are but if he was nervous he could have been focused on everything else and forgot to lean. What is fuel burn fuel rich on a 150? Another .5 gallon and he would have made it but no reserve. May not be the issue, could be poor planning but if that’s the case the CFI has skin in the game too


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Lets say he forgot to lean, and lets also say he forgot to do a dip stick check before departure. Lets also say he lost track of time while having fun in the air. Lets also say he forgot to scan the fuel gauges during the flight. His first reaction when the engine quit was 'I lost oil pressure', not 'oh s*** I ran out of fuel'. That makes no sense. It sounds to me like he forgot that airplanes run on gasoline.

Also, why did the prop stop? It didn't look like his speed was that low.
 
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My CFI told me don't be a dip****, buy fuel at each stop.
 
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May CFI told me don't be a dip****, buy fuel at each stop.

Same here. I adopted that mantra as an instructor. I could see not buying fuel at the first stop prior to heading to his 2nd leg airport. But defintely buy fuel before the long leg home. It's not only about the fuel reserve. Buying fuel, properly fueling, etc., is all part of the learning process for student pilots. Even if they don't "need" it, it's still a worthwile exercise.

I had a student forget his credit card when he was on a solo-cross country. He flew home anyway. I was not happy when I saw how much fuel he put back in the aircraft upon return.
 
My PPL instructor required us to fill the tanks before leaving, and refuel at every enroute stop for solo cross country. He also checked for initials or signature of someone who verified that we were at the specified airport. The FAA once required that in your logbook too. As a result, I never landed with less than half tanks, but gave me nearly 200 mile range.

I wonder how much the distraction of videoing the flight contributed to the failure to properly prepare for the flight, and then fail to scan the RELAVENT instruments.
 
I wonder how much the distraction of videoing the flight contributed to the failure to properly prepare for the flight, and then fail to scan the RELAVENT instruments.[/QUOTE]

Good point, this could have very well been part of the problem


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