C152 PLT RUNS OUT OF GAS; LANDS ON HWY.

Narrative

THE ESSENCE OF THIS RPT IS THAT I RAN OUT OF FUEL. WHAT REALLY CAUSED THE INCIDENT WAS PLT THOUGHTLESSNESS. IN PREFLT I SAW ROUGHLY 1/2 TANKS. I THOUGHT CLB UP IN THE AIR FOR 1 HR (MY ESTIMATED TIME SIGHT-SEEING). AFTER FLYING FOR ABOUT 40 MINS; I HAD DONE THE SIGHT-SEEING I PLANED; THEN SAID 'HAVEN'T BEEN UP HERE TOO LONG; I MIGHT AS WELL KEEP GOING AND SEE WEST POINT.' I DID NOT CHK THE FUEL GAUGES. I REALIZED; ONCE OVER WEST POINT; THAT I WAS VERY LOW ON GAS; SO I IMMEDIATELY TURNED DOWN THE HUDSON AND TOWARDS MY ARPT. THEN I CHKED AGAIN; THE GAUGES WERE REALLY LOW. IT LOOKED LIKE 3 GALS; OR ONE HALF HR OF FLT TIME. CLOSE; SO I LOOKED FOR A CLOSER ARPT; SELECTED WESTCHESTER COUNTY; AND HEADED TOWARDS IT. WHILE IN CONTACT WITH WESTCHESTER RADAR; I HEARD THE FIRST SPUTTER; AND SOON THE ENG WAS NO LONGER TURNING. I INFORMED WESTCHESTER THAT I WAS DECLARING AN EMER; AND THAT I WOULD TRY TO SET THE PLANE DOWN ON A NEARBY HWY. I LANDED ON THE TACONIC PARKWAY; NO INJURIES TO ME (ONLY OCCUPANT); NO CONTACT WITH ANY CARS; NO DAMAGE TO THE PLANE; WHICH I STEERED OFF THE HWY ONTO THE SHOULDER. THOUGHTS: THE BELIEF THAT A 'LCL' FLT TEB/LCL IS A SHORT ONE; THAT REQUIRES A BIT LESS ATTN WAS INCORRECT. I HAD REJECTED THE FIRST PLANE THE FBO SUGGESTED; BECAUSE IT HAD A LARGE; PREVIOUSLY UNREPORTED DENT IN THE LEADING EDGE OF 1 WING. I FELT VIRTUOUS AND COCKY -- 'I AM A CAUTIOUS PLT;' WHICH MADE ME THINK; 'I CAN BE LESS THOROUGH.' THE C152 ALSO BURNS ROUGHLY 8 GPH; RATHER THAN THE 7 GPH I USUALLY ASSUME FOR A C150. IN GENERAL; PLT TRAINING HAS 2 MODES -- TOUCH AND GOES AT THE LCL ARPT (WITH SOME AIRWORK AT THE BEGINNING) AND XCOUNTRY PLANNING AND FLYING. THE FIRST GENERALLY DE-EMPHASIZE FUEL; BECAUSE LESSONS ARE RARELY LONGER THAN 1 HR. EXAMPLE: XCOUNTRY PLANNING DEFINITELY COVERS FUEL USAGE; AND PUNCHING THE NUMBERS TO CONFIRM HOW MUCH WILL BE USED. SIGHT-SEEING AND TOOLING AROUND THE ACFT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS REALLY GONE OVER. I NEVER HAD THE BRAINS TO ASK; 'SO; WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT JUST GOING UP; FLYING AROUND; AND LOOKING AT STUFF?' ONE ANSWER IS: 'IT'S EASY TO LOSE TRACK OF TIME WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE A PARTICULAR GOAL.' A PLT FRIEND SAYS HE HAS A COUNTDOWN TIMER SET ON HIS WRISTWATCH THAT BEEPS WHEN HE HAS A 30 MIN RESERVE CALCULATED. THIS IS A METHOD I WILL APPLY IN THE FUTURE. ALSO; THE CONSIDERATIONS AND CONTRIBUTING FACTORS NOTWITHSTANDING; THIS IS A PRETTY CLR CASE OF A PLT BEING STUPID; THEN GETTING LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO WRITE THIS RPT.