PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Fuel contents on approach...
View Single Post
Old 3rd Jun 2005, 10:48
  #2 (permalink)  
Gary Lager
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: uk
Posts: 1,266
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Depends on the airliner - specifically, what the subsequent fuel burn in the event of a diversion is likely to be.

Normally, we plan to land at our destination with fuel for a go-around and diversion to our alternate airport, in order to land there with 'final reserve fuel', defined by JAR-OPS as enough gas to fly for 30 minutes at 1500' in the landing config at MLW. The actual fuel on board for a normal landing will depend mainly on how far away the alternate is, since final reserve fuel is relatively constant for a particular type (about 1200-1500 kg for the B737/A320/321).

We can elect to use our alternate fuel whilst holding for destination, however, under certain conditions (that's the subject of a different thread!).

Ideally, the centre tank will be empty on landing - normal procedure is to leave as much fuel in the wing tanks for as long as possible. The main reason for this is to permit the weight of the fuel to relieve the structural load on the wings due to lift. So on my types (B737/A320/A321) centre tank fuel is always burnt first.

To answer your question more specifically, my current type (B737) could have between 650kg (after a diversion) and 1500Kg (typical landing fuel at destination) in each wing tank. Zero fuel in the centre.

I'm sure you will get a different answer from pilots of aircraft with more complex fuel systems (long-haul aircraft, particularly)
Gary Lager is offline