Narrative:

• Navigation equipment: magnetic compass; garmin gmc 250XL• fuel: main tank: full 11 gallons. Aux tank; not used.• estimated tie (time inflight enroute): one hour.after waiting for morning fog to lift and after a phone conversion with a fellow pilot; who reported the weather [at intended destination] to be fine with no low ceiling and very good visibility; I took off. I had previously loaded my route into an ipad and carried a related GPS receiver in my shirt pocket. My estimated tie was one hour.I departed with a scattered ceiling of 1200 ft. And turned west. As soon as I reached 2500 ft.; well above the scattered scud clouds and well below the high overcast I tried following my progress on the ipad; which was strapped to my left leg. Unfortunately; the glare was so bright that I couldn't see any detail; I should have turned back! Knowing the approximate headings of my planned route; I decided to continue by using my magnetic compass; mistake no. 2!at first all went well until the scattered clouds began to build; I was unable to stay clear of them and maintain my intended heading. I descended to about 1;000 feet and continued. I was now trying to utilize my sectional map but due to the turbulent air; I was unable to take my hand off the control stick and study the map. In spite of this I continued. The overcast became more solid and grew dark. Because of my inability to properly navigate; due to the turbulence; I lost track of my position.for the next hour; I continued flying southwest; but in order to maintain VFR I had to deviate from my intended heading often. I still thought I would find the reported clear air. By this time; the thunderstorms were violent and I was having a major problem avoiding them; not to mention maintaining control of my aircraft. It was now two hours into a planned one-hour flight and my need to find an airport was all I could think about. After the first hour; I began seriously looking for an airport but because I was lost and even though I flew close to a few small towns; I did not see a single airport.I headed west looking for a place to land. Based on the specs; my 11 gallons of fuel should [have] resulted in over 2 1/2 hours of flight; my engine quit at approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes.the weather had me down to about 800 feet and I was not close to anything that looked like a safe landing site. With only a few seconds to manage a forced landing; I saw a reasonable flat but very small area. I turned toward it and was able to make the turn and pull the nose up into a stall at the same time I arrived. The airplane didn't slide any if at all and stopped abruptly.fortunately; and although I was thoroughly shook up; I was not injured. Later a few bruises confirmed my rough landing. My airplane looked fine; except it was on its belly in a very unfriendly looking area. Conclusion:1. there were a few opportunities; early in the flight; when I should have turned back; but because of the expected clear air up ahead I did not.2. because this was a new and strange airplane for me; I elected to leave the landing gear down to keep the flight as simple as possible; this no doubt reduced my distance covered.3. I obviously was too concerned about my inflight situation; because I failed to lean the mixture at all; again reducing my distance covered.4. also obviously; I was so lost I must have zigzagged far from my intended route to have flown for 2 hours and about 20 minutes on a one-hour route.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: GA pilot reported executing a forced landing following engine failure related to fuel exhaustion.

Narrative: • Navigation Equipment: Magnetic Compass; Garmin GMC 250XL• Fuel: Main tank: Full 11 Gallons. Aux Tank; Not used.• Estimated TIE (Time Inflight Enroute): One hour.After waiting for morning fog to lift and after a phone conversion with a fellow pilot; who reported the weather [at intended destination] to be fine with no low ceiling and very good visibility; I took off. I had previously loaded my route into an iPad and carried a related GPS receiver in my shirt pocket. My estimated TIE was one hour.I departed with a scattered ceiling of 1200 ft. and turned west. As soon as I reached 2500 ft.; well above the scattered scud clouds and well below the high overcast I tried following my progress on the iPad; which was strapped to my left leg. Unfortunately; the glare was so bright that I couldn't see any detail; I SHOULD HAVE TURNED BACK! Knowing the approximate headings of my planned route; I decided to continue by using my magnetic compass; MISTAKE No. 2!At first all went well until the scattered clouds began to build; I was unable to stay clear of them and maintain my intended heading. I descended to about 1;000 feet and continued. I was now trying to utilize my Sectional map but due to the turbulent air; I was unable to take my hand off the control stick and study the map. In spite of this I continued. The overcast became more solid and grew dark. Because of my inability to properly navigate; due to the turbulence; I lost track of my position.For the next hour; I continued flying southwest; but in order to maintain VFR I had to deviate from my intended heading often. I still thought I would find the reported clear air. By this time; the thunderstorms were violent and I was having a major problem avoiding them; not to mention maintaining control of my aircraft. It was now two hours into a planned one-hour flight and my need to find an airport was all I could think about. After the first hour; I began seriously looking for an airport but because I was lost and even though I flew close to a few small towns; I did not see a single airport.I headed west looking for a place to land. Based on the specs; my 11 gallons of fuel should [have] resulted in OVER 2 1/2 hours of flight; my engine quit at approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes.The weather had me down to about 800 feet and I was not close to anything that looked like a safe landing site. With only a few seconds to manage a forced landing; I saw a reasonable flat but very small area. I turned toward it and was able to make the turn and pull the nose up into a stall at the same time I arrived. The airplane didn't slide any if at all and stopped abruptly.Fortunately; and although I was thoroughly shook up; I was not injured. Later a few bruises confirmed my rough landing. My airplane looked fine; except it was on its belly in a very unfriendly looking area. CONCLUSION:1. There were a few opportunities; early in the flight; when I should have turned back; but because of the expected clear air up ahead I did not.2. Because this was a new and strange airplane for me; I elected to leave the landing gear down to keep the flight as simple as possible; this no doubt reduced my distance covered.3. I obviously was too concerned about my inflight situation; because I failed to lean the mixture at all; again reducing my distance covered.4. Also obviously; I was so lost I must have zigzagged far from my intended route to have flown for 2 hours and about 20 minutes on a one-hour route.

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.