Can anyone help me here? I’ve run into a (virtual) problem with fuelling my plane.
I’m at CYWJ Déline Airport Northwest Territories. I was filling the port side main tank and only got 40 US gallons in when the fuel pump quit. They can’t get the part(s) for over a week and I want to get down south of here fairly quickly as it’s early September and the temps are dropping (it’s 2024 during my Epic Cross Canada Quest). Right now I have 150 US gallons in the starboard main and 190 gallons in the port main; there’s nothing in any of the float or drop tanks. Theoretically I should have enough fuel to get me to Hay River/Merlyn Carter Airport NT. METARs show I’m going to hit 10 knot headwinds part way but with judicious leaning and throttling back I should be fine.
Is there some way, while on the ground, I can transfer fuel from the port main to the starboard main to even the amounts? Will I have to just suck it up (pun intended) and run both engines off the port main while in flight until the fuel gauges show equal?
Thanks in advance.
Bob
@AerobaticAce Short of sitting on top of the wings, connecting a hose from one filler cap to the other, and trying to siphon… there’s no way to crossfeed tanks on the Albatross.
I think you’ll have to go with the pun option, and a little bit of aileron trim. 
Good luck!
I’ll have to go with the pun; I’ll be hitting Canadian Tire to get a battery operated fuel transfer pump when I get somewhere with a CT store!
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Oh boy, a British lad must wonder what kind of tire we have in Canada! (I am from Montréal) 
Well, I made it to CYHY Hay River with ~47US gallons in each of the the mains. What Mike said worked just fine.
Then I find out there isn’t a Canadian Tire here in Hay River but there is one in Yellowknife. It would’ve been 45 nautical miles closer than Hay River.
I read somewhere here that “The only time you have too much fuel is when the aircraft is on fire.” I certainly didn’t have too much fuel when I shut down!
For those international folks: Canadian Tire is a country-wide retail chain with a good selection of hardware and home supplies. Back in the old days (says the old gummer - me) you used to get paper Canadian Tire money at, I believe, 2 or 3 cents on the dollar. It looked like Monopoly money but you could redeem it for anything in the store:
Nowadays it’s all high tech on plastic.
Anyway, thankfully I can gas up and be on my merry way to points south then west traipsing across our wonderful nation.
Bob
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