Changing Fuel quantity in Aircraft

[wilderobb]

Is there a simple way to change the amount of fuel a plane has? I'v noticed that 2 Gulfstreams 4's may carry diferent amounts of fuel.  Any help would be great!!!!!!

[Graycat8524]

Heya Wilderrobb,

The aircraft's fuel capacity is defined in the Aircraft.cfg file.  Make a backup of the Aircraft.cfg file (usually I'll make a backup called Aircraft(Old).Bak).  Next you can open the Aircraft.cfg file using Notepad or similar Word Editor.  Look down the list for a section that's like this:

[fuel]
Center1= 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 2303.000, 0.000
LeftMain= 6.34, 8.845, 0.000, 1504.000, 0.000
RightMain= 6.34, -8.845, 0.000, 1504.000, 0.000
fuel_type=2.000000
number_of_tank_selectors=1
electric_pump=0

You'll notice that in the example above each number is separated by a comma.  The first notation is the title of the fuel tank (Left, Right, or Center) second is the X coordinate position, third is the Y, and fourth is the Z coordinate.  The next notation indicates the number of gallons of usable fuel the tank can hold maximum.  The final number is the number of gallons of unusable fuel the tank can hold.

To change the capacity of a fuel tank all that you have to do is change the number in the fifth column above (in the case of the Center tank above this number is 2303).

Save and exit the Aircraft.cfg.  You're done.

[wilderobb]

Thanks so much. You'v saved the day again!

[wilderobb]

That seemed to give me the fuel specified but the fuel gauge on the plane (Gulfstream V) still reads the same as before. Should I consider the extra fuel I added as reserve or is there a way to get the actual fuel gauge to read properly?  Thanks again for your help.

[Graycat8524]

Heya Wilderrobb,

I can't really tell you truthfully unless I know what Gulfstream you're using and what type of fuel gauge it has on its panel.

It totally depends on the fuel gauge that's on the panel that you're using.  If it's the circular analog type that shows pounds of fuel remaining (like the Beech King Air 350 Fuel Gauge) you may not see a change since it may be "maxxed out" (above the number of pounds registered on the gauge).  Until you "burn off" some fuel the gauge will read full.  

Near the beginning of August I downloaded and installed the outstanding Gulfstream IV by Rick Sasala (with FDE and textures by Roger Mole).  You can find it here on SimV:

http://www.simviation.com/fs2004jets60.htm

Just my opinion, but, this is one sweet bird aside from the fact that the Aircraft.cfg was a little off in relation to Empty and Max Takeoff Weight, and fuel capacity.  I checked the numbers related to FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet No. A12EA found here:

http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgMakeModel.nsf/0/8fd4bfcd72b4d55b86256d980067723d/$FILE/A12EA.pdf

I figured that these guys should be trusted to give the correct aircraft specifications.  I plugged in the new numbers and the aircraft still flies great (with very little tweaking)!  And yes, folks, I do "check the numbers" on every aircraft I download.

The panel that is supplied with this aircraft has a digital fuel gauge which will list the total amount of fuel in pounds.  This is useful in that you can change the amount of fuel capacity in the Aircraft.cfg file and the change will be reflected on this gauge.

Mike Stone also has an excellent Gulfstream V (I don't know if it's available on SimV) but you can download it from his webpage:

http://www.pmstone.com

Just as a note I found that the Aircraft.cfg supplied with Mike's Gulfstream V was pretty darn close to the numbers on the FAA website.

Mike Stone's Gulfstream V also has a digital fuel gauge on its panel.

The default 737 panel also has digital fuel gauges.

In conclusion, you may not see a change on analog type gauges, however, if you use a digital fuel gauge you should see the difference.

[wilderobb]

Indeed Graycat!!
       Thanks to you I now understand the relationship between fuel,Gauges and the pannel. I do have the Gulf V and it's as sweet as the Gulf IV (One of my favorites). My Gulf V is a bit quicker to react so when flying manualy it keeps me on my toes.
       Now the about that colour........
 PS. Thanks a million.   Gary