Dropped a clanger (Literally)
Lovely weather on Saturday, booked a Warrior for three hours to have a scenic over the coast from the north east to the east. All was well until 15 minutes into the flight when I looked out at the port wing and discovered the filler cap was missing. Luckily I was flying on the starboard tank and this was up to tabs and although the port tank was reading like it still had plenty on the gauge, I didn't fancy my chances!
Immediately returned to base, confessed to an instructor and the CFI, instructor confirmed and I agreed that there was no excuse for not seeing it and donned the high-vis and radio to start combing the field. After about an hour I found the cap, right after the numbers on the runway. I couldn't believe it. Left the cap on the wing whilst rushing to the other tank before the pump shut its self off.
I can't believe I didn't spot it on the ground during taxi or runups, or when I set flap. Really don't know how i managed it! Somehow I don't think I'll be making that mistake again...
Anyway, we put the cap back on and made a second, much more enjoyable trip to the coast.
For anyone interested, I was battered with questions from club members afterwords all asking whether the fuel was sucked out of the wing. Answer = no, not a drop. No splashes, no spray, nothing. Fuel remained at tabs.
I blame not flying enough. I need to get more free time and improve currency. All I keep thinking is if I managed to taxi, runup, backtrack and take off without noticing, it could have just as easily been 1.5 hours into the flight and I could have been desperate to switch to the tank with no cap. I was stupid and lucky.