New rental location- no fuel sticks!

Will Kumley

Will Kumley

Line Up and Wait
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Will
I recently moved to a new area which means I'm renting from a new school. They have a slightly larger variety of aircraft than my last location which is nice but something I've noticed is that none of the planes have a fuel quantity stick. I asked and they said they had a problem with the sticks disappearing so they just rely on the fuel gauges and top off the tanks before each renter takes the plane. I'm okay with visually seeing that the tanks are full prior to a flight most of the time. However, there are times I want less fuel when I'm near max gross weight or want the ability to visually verify the fuel level before my return on a longer trip. I figure the best way to give myself my own piece of mind is to just buy my own fuel quantity sticks. It seems like PA-28 sticks are pretty much the same across the board, what about 172's? In my search it seems like there are different sticks for different 172s. I can understand a 40gal vs 50gal difference but there also are some sticks labeled new 172 vs old 172. Does this mean that newer 172s have a different tank design that requires a different calibration on the stick markings? I really don't want to buy more than I need but at the same time I want to ensure I have an accurate reading of fuel in the wings for my own peace of mind, not to mention my wife and kids.
 
Will Kumley said:
I recently moved to a new area which means I'm renting from a new school. They have a slightly larger variety of aircraft than my last location which is nice but something I've noticed is that none of the planes have a fuel quantity stick. I asked and they said they had a problem with the sticks disappearing so they just rely on the fuel gauges and top off the tanks before each renter takes the plane. I'm okay with visually seeing that the tanks are full prior to a flight most of the time. However, there are times I want less fuel when I'm near max gross weight or want the ability to visually verify the fuel level before my return on a longer trip. I figure the best way to give myself my own piece of mind is to just buy my own fuel quantity sticks. It seems like PA-28 sticks are pretty much the same across the board, what about 172's? In my search it seems like there are different sticks for different 172s. I can understand a 40gal vs 50gal difference but there also are some sticks labeled new 172 vs old 172. Does this mean that newer 172s have a different tank design that requires a different calibration on the stick markings? I really don't want to buy more than I need but at the same time I want to ensure I have an accurate reading of fuel in the wings for my own peace of mind, not to mention my wife and kids.
Click to expand...

Check out http://fuelstik.com/

you can print calibrations for different types of planes from their website or make your own.

http://fuelstik.com/documentation/
 
Will Kumley said:
Does this mean that newer 172s have a different tank design that requires a different calibration on the stick markings?
Click to expand...
Roughly speaking, 38 gallon (150hp) vs 40 gallon (160hp standard tanks) vs 53 gallon tanks (long range N/P models as well as Q/R/S models). More HP = more gas.
 
PA-28 is pretty easy as it has the tabs. If I was running a rental place my SOP would be to fill to the tabs unless the renter asked for it to be topped off.

You are the pilot in command so you need to make sure your fuel quantity is adequate, If this means buying or making you own dip stick then so be it. Might suggest to the rental place that they sell fuel sticks for their airplanes.
I think most 172’s are 38 gallons useable but there were some variations in the later years especially.
So If buying a pre-made one you need to do your homework as to what matches which model.

Brian
CFIIIG/ASEL
 
Make your own from a good quality wood paint stick. Dip the tank and mark fuel level on the stick with pencil. Refuel and do a little math enter a value. Better than anything you will buy.

But with that said, the POH, proper planning, and a watch are your friend because if plane isn’t level the stick can be wrong. You can be using the wrong stick or scale.
 
brcase said:
PA-28 is pretty easy as it has the tabs. If I was running a rental place my SOP would be to fill to the tabs unless the renter asked for it to be topped off.

You are the pilot in command so you need to make sure your fuel quantity is adequate, If this means buying or making you own dip stick then so be it. Might suggest to the rental place that they sell fuel sticks for their airplanes.
I think most 172’s are 38 gallons useable but there were some variations in the later years especially.
So If buying a pre-made one you need to do your homework as to what matches which model.

Brian
CFIIIG/ASEL
Click to expand...
I agree, the Cherokee is easy and I do plan to ask them to sell fuel sticks for their aircraft. I'm fine buying fuel sticks but don't want to buy too many and look like I've got a bag of straws sitting in the closet waiting for me to pick the correct one when I go fly. Actually thinking of getting a universal stick and keeping a chart in my bag so it doesn't matter if I have to switch planes on short notice.
Thankfully my comfort level hasn't been exceeded yet since my flights have been short and the I haven't had many passengers so I don't fear going over max weight with full fuel.
 
This raises a question in my mind...My PA28R has 25 gallon tanks of which 24 is "useable". Meaning "all "NORMAL" flight attitudes". So what is "NORMAL"?? I fly in and over the Rockies and rarely find any kind of smooth air. So I am extremely reluctant to continue with less than 1 hour total (i.e. 5 gal each tank) because of concern over "un-porting" of the fuel intake during turbulence. Watching the fuel gauge needles bounce from 0 to less than 10 is not fun even though my JPI 830 totalizer is accurate to within a couple of tenths. Likewise I won't run a tank dry since the fuel injected IO-360 in my Arrow would suck air and I don't want to find out when over the rocks how long it takes to pick up fuel again plus the prop management would have to be quick. SO...I always fill to the top since I fly solo 99.99% of the time. In my previous plane, C-172, I would frequently run a tank dry to stretch distance between fuel stops (not too many around here). The gravity feed of the 172 presented no problem for a carburetor engine.
 
Will Kumley said:
I recently moved to a new area which means I'm renting from a new school. They have a slightly larger variety of aircraft than my last location which is nice but something I've noticed is that none of the planes have a fuel quantity stick. I asked and they said they had a problem with the sticks disappearing so they just rely on the fuel gauges and top off the tanks before each renter takes the plane. I'm okay with visually seeing that the tanks are full prior to a flight most of the time. However, there are times I want less fuel when I'm near max gross weight or want the ability to visually verify the fuel level before my return on a longer trip. I figure the best way to give myself my own piece of mind is to just buy my own fuel quantity sticks. It seems like PA-28 sticks are pretty much the same across the board, what about 172's? In my search it seems like there are different sticks for different 172s. I can understand a 40gal vs 50gal difference but there also are some sticks labeled new 172 vs old 172. Does this mean that newer 172s have a different tank design that requires a different calibration on the stick markings? I really don't want to buy more than I need but at the same time I want to ensure I have an accurate reading of fuel in the wings for my own peace of mind, not to mention my wife and kids.
Click to expand...

Fuel systems in the 172 have changed a lot generation to generation. The legacy Cessnas mostly have the 40gal integral tanks, while the restart ones mostly (all?) have the 53gal wet wings. There're also some other ones (oddballs like 172RG or Hawk XP, as well as extended range tanks, etc). Bottom line is the stick is only good for knowing that there's more than 0 fuel in the tank unless you're 100% sure you have the right stick for your model. So buy your own stick(s) for the plane(s) you fly. Or, make your own stick by starting with the airplane empty and adding lines after pumping in a known quantity
 
My 1966H model 172 has a 39 gallon tank, 36 useable. The newer models (like the S model) have 56 gallon tanks, 53 useable. I have the fuel Hawk dipstick for mine. You can pick them up for about $20 online. Just look for the proper tank size. Here is a link to what mine is https://www.amazon.com/Luso-Aviatio...hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583520394773261&psc=1

Usually the fuel hawk sticks account for the unuseable portion by having a couple of notches at the bottom before you get to the 0. I made a backup for my plane with a paint stir stick and just marked it like the official dipstick i have. It is spot on every time I need to fill up with how much I can expect to buy in gallons
 
Talked to the Flight school I rent from and they have no intention on selling fuel sticks but understand my concern. They did confirm all the 172s they rent have the standard 56 gallon tanks so that only requires one fuel stick from Amazon. For the piper, I plan to make my own using a chart I found online.
 
Buy your own. Don’t rely on places to provide anything beside the plane.
 
I made fuel sticks for all the flight school's airplanes. .040" or .050" aluminum, 5052-H32, easy to work with. The stick had a crosspiece riveted to its top, and that T-bar sat on the top of the filler neck. Nothing touched the bottom of the tank, but it came close. I had seen too many dings and scratches on tank bottoms, and those tanks are often made of pretty thin stuff. Bladders you don't want to touch, either. The sticks were calibrated by starting at unusable fuel as specified in the TCDS. That's zero fuel. Then five gallons at a time were added and pencil marks made on the stick. Once done, the sticks were metal-stamped with the numbers, and painted with green epoxy zinc chromate primer, which clearly shows the fuel level and the fuel can't hurt it.

I later made sticks for 180s and 185s. The stick still had the tee on top but the dip had a banana-curve to it to reach farther back into the tank. In ground attitude you can't see the fuel when it gets down some. The fillers are near the front of the tank.

Never took pictures of them. Sorry.
 
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