The pilot of a cessna 185 utilized accumulated time flown on several legs over a 30 day period to tr...

Attributes
ACN	1288579
Time
Date	201508
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.ARTCC
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	Marginal
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Skywagon 185
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Descent
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	VFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Fuel
Person 1
Function	Single Pilot Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Flight Engineer Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Multiengine
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 25 Flight Crew Total 21350 Flight Crew Type 1000
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural FAR Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown Inflight Event / Encounter Fuel Issue

Narrative:

I originally left [home airport] with my aircraft with full fuel (78 gallons useable) on a 1+10 hours direct flight. During the course of the approximately 30 days between the departure date and my return date to [home airport]; I conducted numerous short flights (9 roundtrips) of 11 minutes duration each way. Each of these flights required a high power climb to 2;000-2;500 feet MSL for overwater single engine operation. I also conducted two round trips of 20 minutes each way with similar climb requirements. I tracked my flight time meticulously with the use of the on board GPS system over the course of the time period prior to my return trip. I departed with 5.4 hours of flight time on the full fuel tanks planning on having 2.0 hours of fuel left for the 1.2 hour flight. I ran out of fuel 52 minutes into my flight and landed on a highway. There was no damage or injuries to myself; the plane; or anyone on the ground fortunately.I have owned the incident aircraft for approximately 25 years and I have never run out of fuel in any aircraft over the course of my [long] aviation career. In retrospect; I obviously failed to consider the increased fuel consumption due to the numerous takeoffs during the course of the 30 days. I allowed my familiarity with the incident aircraft and the route flown to influence my judgment and make some not so smart decisions regarding fuel for the return flight. I could have easily landed [short] to buy 10 gallons of AVGAS as a safety margin but I was sure I had enough fuel obviously. Poor decision and judgment on my part and I assure you it will not happen again.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: The pilot of a Cessna 185 utilized accumulated time flown on several legs over a 30 day period to track available fuel; only to run out of fuel approximately 18 minutes short of his destination.

Narrative: I originally left [home airport] with my aircraft with full fuel (78 gallons useable) on a 1+10 hours direct flight. During the course of the approximately 30 days between the departure date and my return date to [home airport]; I conducted numerous short flights (9 roundtrips) of 11 minutes duration each way. Each of these flights required a high power climb to 2;000-2;500 feet MSL for overwater single engine operation. I also conducted two round trips of 20 minutes each way with similar climb requirements. I tracked my flight time meticulously with the use of the on board GPS system over the course of the time period prior to my return trip. I departed with 5.4 hours of flight time on the full fuel tanks planning on having 2.0 hours of fuel left for the 1.2 hour flight. I ran out of fuel 52 minutes into my flight and landed on a highway. There was no damage or injuries to myself; the plane; or anyone on the ground fortunately.I have owned the incident aircraft for approximately 25 years and I have never run out of fuel in any aircraft over the course of my [long] aviation career. In retrospect; I obviously failed to consider the increased fuel consumption due to the numerous takeoffs during the course of the 30 days. I allowed my familiarity with the incident aircraft and the route flown to influence my judgment and make some not so smart decisions regarding fuel for the return flight. I could have easily landed [short] to buy 10 gallons of AVGAS as a safety margin but I was sure I had enough fuel obviously. Poor decision and judgment on my part and I assure you it will not happen again.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

The pilot of a cessna 185 utilized accumulated time flown on several legs over a 30 day period to track available fuel; only to run out of fuel approximately 18 minutes short of his destination.