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Old 3rd Jun 2014, 18:59
  #14 (permalink)  
tdracer
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Everett, WA
Age: 68
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Guam

Perhaps I wasn't clear - all 747-400/-8 aircraft structurally have a stab fuel tank. But on Freighters (and some passenger models) it's not functional as a fuel tank - the sealing, pumps, fuel lines, etc. are not installed. Further, when a passenger model is converted to a freighter (e.g BCF), the stab fuel is disabled and most of that equipment comes out to save weight.

A 747-400 with full tanks (but no stab fuel) can carry ~ 180 to 190 tons of fuel (depending on density - about 53,600 US gallons). Stab fuel adds another ~11.5 tons (3300 gallons), or about a 6% increase. I don't know why you'd need stab fuel at ~130 tons unless as JammedStab notes it's for balance.

BTW Guam, why would you need full CWT fuel (again, ~185 tons) for a 9.5 hour flight?
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