787 „disappearing” fuel
After converting to the 787, I have noticed the fuel gauges as well as FMC fuel predictions tend to be quite unreliable, namely:
- during flight there is usually a marked difference between “totalizer fuel” and “calculated fuel” in the FMC. Usually on order of 500kg, with the totalizer fuel being less than calculated fuel. This seems to be associated with switching off the CTR tank pumps, as if this 500kg was disappearing somewhere in the system
- FMC fuel predictions seem to be “optimistic”, ie they initially show higher amount of fuel on landing, which is decreasing as the flight is getting closer to destination. We usually land at up to ~1 tonne less than what was initially predicted by the FMC
Anyone noticed similar thing?
How about other Boeings? I’ve only flown Airbus before and the gauges, as well as FMGC predictions seemed to be much more reliable.
No big deal in day to day ops, but can be treacherous when operating close to minimum fuel and / or in case of diversions…