Fuel Management

[CAY102- Jon]

Fellow Airmen,

I thought that it would be pretty neat to share the various fuel levels your favourite flights require in an attempt to cut back on excess fuel being purchased and not utilized. Be sure to get the figures in lbs. and not %! Next time you do a flight check in VAFS how much fuel is loaded before push and then after you arrive on stand at your destination and feel free to share with us your findings! Of course we will be adding extra for holds, diversions etc.

To start off, as an example:

CAY102 - B733 - Service from MWCR-KMIA - FL340 - Fuel on board 14.4 thousand pounds. (Remember, this can be set in your fuel and payload in FS so that you put in the exact amount instead of a percentage.

Another example:

AAL1746 - B738 - MWCR-KMIA - FL320 - Fuel on board 16.6


captain1

[CAY253- Guy]

Good idea, it would be interesting to see how full the BA763 is leaving LHR, I would imagine the tanks are fit to burst! T/O rolls always seem very long out of LHR!

Also, how much fuel does the DHC-6 take for the Sister Islands run? Do they fill up in the Brac only or in GCM too? I always look at the gauge in the cockpit and it always looks about empty! :O

[CAY102- Jon]

They typically leave MWCR with "2 hours 5-0 minutes" fuel, will need to see what that works out to on lbs.

As for LHR, I know when I flew down to Santiago I had (in %) 96% fuel on board (This was around 68,000 pounds, can't remember the metric system used) and arrived with approximately 1 hour of reserves etc. a little more in fact so I would say less from LHR-NAS of course, perhaps (in %) 80? Unsure though, will pull a few resources and see what happens.

I recall BA arriving here with around 30 tonnes fuel on board.

[CAY505- Tim]

I find it best not to think in terms % as well. In the real world, its all based on the weight of fuel. I also tend to look at the arrival fuel at destination and then work my way back to departure.

For example: The B737-300 burns approximately 6000 lbs of fuel per hour in the last hour of flight (it will burn more per hour when heavier which is why we tend to think in lbs/hour at arrival as that is what your reserve fuel and holding fuel will be based on) so for most operations without an alternate I am looking to arrive at the destination with about 6000 lbs of fuel (45 mins reserve and 15 mins of hold/extra). If you have poor weather, an alternate, or some enroute issues (turbulence, thunderstorms) you will need some more obviously. Close in alternates will only require 1500 to 2000 lbs of additional fuel and then add in a thousand pounds or so if its a busier arrival airport, volume wise, to cover any vectoring or brief holding. In essence, 9000 lbs arrival fuel will be more than enough for most operations on the -300.

Once you have your arrival fuel, add in your enroute fuel burn (I still use the 6000 lbs/hour figure as I mostly fly short hops and do not depart at MGTOW frequently which may require a higher burn per hour rate for the first couple of hours) plus your expected taxi and APU burn and you arrive at your departure fuel.

So, on your MWCR to KMIA flight on a VFR day:

6000 lbs arrival fuel
1000 lbs hold/vector fuel
6000 lbs enroute burn
600 lbs taxiout/APU burn
________
13,600 lbs Fuel required for flight.

If your just getting used to a new aircraft, have been experiencing over burning, or have other issues that are causing increased fuel burn; just add some more fuel on board without going crazy. 3000 lbs of fuel will get you about 30 minutes of flight endurance at your destination without getting too fuel happy and in the above calculation, it would have you arriving KMIA with 10,000 lbs of fuel which is an hour and 40 minutes of endurance once you arrive in the KMIA area. More than enough for most unforeseen issues and enough fuel to get you to several other airports if you can not land in KMIA for any reason. Throw in another 1500 lbs for the KFLL alternate and your arriving with almost 2 hours of fuel.

captain1