Student Engine Out Goes Right

NordicDave

NordicDave

En-Route
Joined
Oct 31, 2015
Messages
2,737
Location
Monterey County
Display Name
NordicDave
Home Airfield
KWVI
Last edited:
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.
 
eman1200 said:
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
Click to expand...

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.
 
Last edited:
He said his oil pressure dropped. Not sure if that was before the engine quitting, or after.
 
fasteddie said:
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/
Click to expand...
??? What that got to do with this
 
Rgbeard said:
When the engine runs out of fuel, the oil pressure generally drifts to zero in a short period of time.
Click to expand...

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.
 
sarangan said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
Last edited:
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.
dmspilot said:
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.
Click to expand...
 
G-force said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
G-force said:
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.
Click to expand...

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?
 
dmspilot said:
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.
Click to expand...
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

 
Silvaire said:
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

Click to expand...


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.
 
Last edited:
Silvaire said:
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

Click to expand...

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


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Torque beast said:
Maybe he didn’t lean mixture right or at all
Click to expand...

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
 
Silvaire said:
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
Click to expand...

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


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Torque beast said:
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


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

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.
 
Last edited:
My CFI told me don't be a dip****, buy fuel at each stop.
 
Last edited:
PaulS said:
May CFI told me don't be a dip****, buy fuel at each stop.
Click to expand...

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


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top