Fuel gauge for airborne trike?

[Mark11]

Doing the downwind checks for fuel... It's very hard to see the fuel in the tank

 

I don't have a mirror on the wheel spat, but even with this it's not easy (there was one on the instructors trike)

 

Is there a fuel gauge that anyone knows about? It wouldn't need to be calibrated - just let you know when your tank is getting low

 

My two stroke only has a 40litre tank - so about 2 hours before a top up...

 

I don't want to just rely on time and consumption

 

 

[frank marriott]

Doing the downwind checks for fuel..

 

Mark

 

If you only have one tank I don't understand what the check is - limited options. If you plan to land with 45mins res. there is little else to do (no longer mandatory but recommended). The check is for when you have 2 (or more) tanks to ensure the tank selected has sufficient fuel for a go round - some setups have min fuel level for take off, so becomes important in those conditions.

 

 

[facthunter]

I would imagine if you fit some type of fuel gauge it would need to meet some accuracy parameters. They usually have to be calibrated. If you can determine the fuel sloshing in the tank visually it might be best to leave things be especially if this is the original situation with the aircraft as approved. Fuel reserves will be used in some situations. That is why you carry them. You can't set out planning to use them (on any sector) if you have other options. Nev

 

 

[sain]

Hi Mark,

 

If your capable of doing some soldering you might want to check out Jim Weir's capacitive fuel gauge (June, July and August) on this page

 

 

[Mark11]

Doing the downwind checks for fuel..Mark

 

If you only have one tank I don't understand what the check is - limited options. If you plan to land with 45mins res. there is little else to do (no longer mandatory but recommended). The check is for when you have 2 (or more) tanks to ensure the tank selected has sufficient fuel for a go round - some setups have min fuel level for take off, so becomes important in those conditions.

In a trike there is one tank only - and the only way to check is by trying to see the fuel level through the cloudy white plastic fuel tank - very hard to actually see

 

This is how the plane is designed and certified

 

I would have thought one day the designers might consider a fuel gauge

 

 

[facthunter]

The truth is that you NEVER rely entirely on a remote fuel gauge anyhow, in an aircraft. Many sensors are less reliable than the systems they monitior.( Eg Engine oil pressure). A clear section in the plastic tank would be nice as long as it didn't compromise the structure. Nev