Accuracy in Fuel Management for General Aviation

Present fuel flow measuring systems for medium priced aircraft lack the accuracy needed for efficient flight planning and cargo weight scheduling. They also lack the means for totalizing the measurement signal to provide an accurate measure of fuel consumed or fuel remaining.

A new fuel management system has been designed to use a turbine meter to measure fuel flow. Since the measuring instrument provides a digital output, flow rate can be totalized by means of a pulse counter. Therefore, in addition to rate indication, the pilot has an accurate total of fuel consumed or fuel remaining at his disposal.

This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of existing systems and contrasts them with the turbine meter system. It also discusses fuel density changes due to temperature and fuel type and how they affect the measuring system in both piston and turbo-type aircraft.