Fuel tank sending units

[GuppyWN]

There are also flow meters that will tell you how many gallons per hour your engine is burning. I have mine calibrated to read 1/2 gallon per hour MORE than I actually burn. Just my conservative nature.

If you have it programmed 1/2 gal more and you know it’s burning 1/2 more why wouldn’t you program the exact burn?

[PapuaPilot]

You mentioned the G3X, which is what I have. I am using the "Red Cube" fuel flow sensor and it is spot on accurate. All you need to do is program the amount of fuel into the G3X and it takes care of it from there. When I fill my tanks I tell it I have 26 gallons. I don't count my header tank as useable which actually gives me another 12-15 minutes reserve.

Like was mentioned, the sight tubes are as foolproof as you get. I calibrated mine by filling my tanks in 2 gallon increments and made lines next to the sight tubes. My plane is a tailwheel so I did it in two positions; level and on the tail wheel. When I do my preflight I compare the sight tubes to the G3X reading and they are always within a 1/2 gallon.

The G3X it totally capable of displaying fuel levels, but there is no reason to add that complexity to a Kitfox.

[Rodney]

GuppyWN. Thats a good question to which I honestly don’t have a good answer
other than to say I’m just conservative. On a three hour flight that gallon n one half is 15 to 20 minutes flight time.

As a friend of mine says. “That’s good enough for the girls we go with.”

After all, it is a mechanical piece of equipment and as such susceptible to some error. However, I have found a fuel flow reading consistently more accurate than having fuel gages. My Kitfox is the first airplane I have owned that has a fuel flow gage and I really like it

That is probably not a very good answer but if I’m going to err I want it to be on the side of having more fuel available. We read all the time about guys running out of fuel. I’m really trying to NOT be one of those guys. My Dad who spent WW2 as an instructor pilot in everything from P-51s to Stearmans to AT6’s would come down from Heaven n slap me upside the head if I ever did that.

Regards
Rodney

[PapuaPilot]

I have found a fuel flow reading consistently more accurate than having fuel gages.
Rodney

That is so true! That was the case on the Cessna Caravans and Quest Kodiaks that I flew. We relied on the fuel totalizer, not the fuel gauges.

Personally I want my fuel flow to be spot on. It's my preference to land with 6o minutes of fuel, not FAA's 30 minutes for VFR. I got back with yesterday with ~30 minutes left, but I knew exactly how much would be remaining when I landed.

[N213RV]

I have a Dynon SkyView system with a fuel flow meter. It is very accurate. I also have the system set to an alarm to “switch fuel tanks” every 15 flying minutes. This is just a reminder that I must acknowledge and reminds me to physically check the fuel levels. Works great for me!! There is also a low fuel alarm set at 5 gallons remaining as calculated from the fuel flow meter.....

[jiott]

On the way home from Osh, I and two others landed at Tracy, MN for fuel, but their tank was dry. Was glad for my 30 min. minimum reserve because it took 15 minutes to get to Marshall where there was fuel (we called ahead).