Sticker shock

You might be thinking, How does a new private pilot find her way into the front seat of the two-seat, low-wing, single-engine warbird derived from the Beechcraft Bonanza? Well, sitting directly behind me was my boyfriend (now husband) Ryan, and directly off my wing were two other T–34s, all flown and owned by members of his family.

Before this trip, I had only flown aircraft with On/Off fuel selectors. The Mentor, however, is equipped with two 25-gallon fuel tanks and a Left/Right/Off fuel selector. Managing the more complicated fuel system needed to be at the forefront of my mind. Luckily, Ryan’s grandfather was keeping a close eye on the time and announced over our formation frequency that it was time to switch tanks. “It’s been an hour. Y’all make sure to switch tanks.”

With that as my cue I turned my attention toward the fuel selector. I moved the switch from the left to the right tank, lining up the handle with the placard.

The engine went from purring to a few gurgles and then a deafening silence.

“My airplane,” Ryan said. As he turned us away from the other airplanes and lined us up on a long, straight road in between corn fields, Ryan (as calm as ever) instructed me to undo what I had just done. I switched back to the other tank, and the airplane roared back to life in an instant.

“Hey, what’s going on back there?” asked a family member in one of the accompanying airplanes.

“Cayla is learning a lesson about turning the fuel off. We will catch back up to y’all,” said Ryan.

“But I didn’t switch the fuel off,” I replied, frustrated. “All I did was line the selector switch up with where it says ‘right tank.’”

“Well, you went too far. You can’t pay attention to the placard. You have to feel the detent. That is all you can do. The stickers must be wrong.”

Incredibly annoyed that no one had told me the stickers are wrong, I asked, “Well, now what?”

“It’s all up to you to get us back to the right tank. I don’t have a selector back here,” said Ryan. “Just feel for the detent. Don’t look at the stickers.”

After a quick second of working up the courage to switch the selector to the left tank, I placed my hand on the switch and turned my eyes toward the horizon. After feeling a defined click, I held my breath for a few seconds, prepared for the engine to quit. It kept running smoothly.

Aside from learning that placards might not always be quite right, I also learned another important lesson on this trip. In some in-flight situations, I may have the option to undo whatever I have just done.

Whether it’s switching to the previous fuel tank or unflipping a switch for an avionics glitch, it’s important to slow down, take a moment and think about whether you have the option to remedy the problem by undoing whatever you have just done.