View Full Version : Fuel tank tab quantity
Just a quick question, and no I dont have access to a POH right now, hence the question.
How much fuel is in a Warrior/Arrow fuel tanks when filled up to the tabs?
Any PA28 model will do
ta
FlyingForFun
2nd Jun 2003, 19:28
From memory - I also don't have the POH to hand:
PA28-161, max fuel in each tank is 25USG, max usable in each tank is 24USG, tabs is 17USG. I think. Can't guarantee that all PA28s are the same, though - in fact, I know that the PA28RT-200 has bigger tanks, but can't remember the numbers for that one.
FFF
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The Nr Fairy
2nd Jun 2003, 19:31
Can't remember much of my f/w days, but 17USG per side to tabs sounds about right for the bog standard Warriors I flew - IIRC 4 hours endurance when filled both sides to tabs, and at 8GPH the sums more or less work out.
Reason I ask is that I thought it was 17USG but saw 15 Imp gallons (15IG = 18USG) on an Arrow II this weekend. Seems odd to use Imp galls when fuel flow is in USG/hr.
RodgerF
2nd Jun 2003, 20:18
A reasonable rule of thumb with PA28 aircraft is that the tabs are at 2/3 of the full capacity
BEXIL160
2nd Jun 2003, 21:00
From the PA28 Warrior III POH:
Indicator Tab : 34 US gal (17 per tank)
: 28.3 Imp gal
: 128.7 litre
Rgds BEX
Tinstaafl
3rd Jun 2003, 01:38
I've always wondered why Piper didn't make the tab so that it extends all the way to the bottom & is graduated in, say 5 or 10 USG increments. Sight difficulties could be worked around by mounting the 'tab' so that as it reaches from the top of the tank to the bottom it also slopes from the edge of the cap orifice towards centre & the opposite edge. A staircase arrangement with each step representing an increment.
The Nr Fairy
3rd Jun 2003, 04:40
Well, best fuel gauge I've seen is a calibrated cut-down broomhandle.
Used in an R22 in Oz - when wet, gets dark. One side shows aux tank the other shows main tank contents. In the UK, metal ones are used, and the non-painted ones are a sod to see.
MLS-12D
3rd Jun 2003, 06:04
Best fuel gauge I've seen is a calibrated cut-down broomhandle - when wet, gets dark. In the UK, metal ones are used, and the non-painted ones are a sod to see.Agreed; but it can still be difficult to see the dark/wet part of the broomhandle under some conditions. Better are those calibrated, hollow, transparent tube things (http://www.thepilotsnest.com/pilotsupplies/prods/PA-026.html) where you plug the top end with your finger; virtually foolproof.
PA28s came with at least two sizes of tank.
The old PA28-140 I learned on had two tanks totalling 42 imperial gallons, with no unuseable. The Arrow II I flew in the early 90s had the same 42 IG tanks. I don't remember whether or not it had "tabs".
The Arrow III I fly now has tanks of 60 imp gallons (72 US gallons), with tabs at 40 IG (48 USG) plus another 4 IG (5 USG) unuseable.
I didn't note in my logbook the fuel capacity of Warriors, Archers etc - I think it's a case of "Hershey Bar wing = 42 IG, Shaped wing = 60 G" but I'd advise checking the POH for the aircraft you fly.