Narrative:

I was instructing a cross-country flight. My student and I planned the flight; checked the weather; and departed. Before taking off we pre-flighted the helicopter (R-22). The aircraft was fueled so that I had a total of 29 gallons on board. I then used a dipstick and visually verified the fuel capacity. We were well within the 20 minute reserve based on the flight plan. On our final leg back the low fuel light 'flickered' for a moment and then illuminated. The aircraft was around three miles from our final destination. Once the low fuel light illuminated I checked the fuel gages again. The main tank was indicating a little over 1/4 tank full. I then immediately took command of the aircraft. (The main tank on the R-22 holds 19.2 gallons of usable fuel. Once the low fuel light illuminates the aircraft has five minutes of fuel left at cruise power). Keeping safety first; once the light illuminated I made the decision to land in a safe area that would not harm or damage persons or property. I notified the tower of my situation and intentions. I located an open grass field and began a high and low recon of the area. Next; I chose a safe spot to land in the open field; and began a normal approach to a hover under full power. I hovered for a moment to find a level spot to land; checked the surface of the field; and then touched down safely. I then again notified the tower that I had made a safe landing and everything was ok. I then began a normal cool down of the aircraft. Once the cylinder head temperature was low enough I began the shut down procedure. Now that the aircraft was shutdown I called the tower again on my cell phone to let them know everything was still ok and my plan of action from that point. I did notice on the return flight that the winds had picked up and we had a headwind. Being the pilot in command of an instructional flight; my decision made not only for safety; but to show my student good judgment.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An R-22 instructor pilot working with a student experienced a low fuel situation and landed off-airport to refuel.

Narrative: I was instructing a cross-country flight. My student and I planned the flight; checked the weather; and departed. Before taking off we pre-flighted the helicopter (R-22). The aircraft was fueled so that I had a total of 29 gallons on board. I then used a dipstick and visually verified the fuel capacity. We were well within the 20 minute reserve based on the flight plan. On our final leg back the low fuel light 'flickered' for a moment and then illuminated. The aircraft was around three miles from our final destination. Once the low fuel light illuminated I checked the fuel gages again. The main tank was indicating a little over 1/4 tank full. I then immediately took command of the aircraft. (The main tank on the R-22 holds 19.2 gallons of usable fuel. Once the low fuel light illuminates the aircraft has five minutes of fuel left at cruise power). Keeping safety first; once the light illuminated I made the decision to land in a safe area that would not harm or damage persons or property. I notified the Tower of my situation and intentions. I located an open grass field and began a high and low recon of the area. Next; I chose a safe spot to land in the open field; and began a normal approach to a hover under full power. I hovered for a moment to find a level spot to land; checked the surface of the field; and then touched down safely. I then again notified the Tower that I had made a safe landing and everything was OK. I then began a normal cool down of the aircraft. Once the cylinder head temperature was low enough I began the shut down procedure. Now that the aircraft was shutdown I called the Tower again on my cell phone to let them know everything was still OK and my plan of action from that point. I did notice on the return flight that the winds had picked up and we had a headwind. Being the pilot in command of an instructional flight; my decision made not only for safety; but to show my student good judgment.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.