The original FUELHAWK fuel gauge that came with Niner Niner Five that I have been using for more than a year was the wrong one! It is for a C-182 with bladder tanks. I now have the right one, FUELHAWK C-182/43.5. Good thing that I didn't ever rely solely on the original gauge. When the original gauge said 39 gallons I had 36 gallons. When it said 30, I had 20. When it said 20 I had 8. When it said 10, I had 2!
Trust me I will be confirming that the new gauge more closely aligns with the electronic fuel gauges and my own estimations of fuel remaining before I have faith in it.
I feel stupid that I have been using the wrong gauge for a year but I feel good about starting to look closely at what information I was being presented, all instruments, all tools, and comparing. The reason it hasn't matter before. I like having half full tanks at minimum at all times and so was never close to minimum fuel. The reason I started looking closely, I am soon off to the Bahamas and fuel planning will be different, and I imagine I will fly will lower fuel levels than I ever have before.
A good pilot is always learning. Lesson learned? Validate everything. Now how do I confirm my tire pressure gauge is accurate . . . .
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