New poll - fuel for VFR flight

How much fuel for a VFR cross-country return flight.

  • I always fill the tanks before I fly.

    Votes: 29 29.9%

  • I always fill to some other point, e.g. tabs, before I fly.

    Votes: 8 8.2%

  • I would be OK with at least one hour extra.

    Votes: 47 48.5%

  • 30 minutes extra is fine given the nice weather.

    Votes: 2 2.1%

  • Other.

    Votes: 11 11.3%
  • Total voters
    97
50% of all small aircraft accidents are caused by fuel mismanagement (FAA term). Always carry all the fuel you can. I plan all cross country trips to bladder range or less (about 3 hours), so with full tanks (5 hours) I try to land with 2 hours remaining.
 
1 hour of fuel is my minimum and I like to give business to the FBOs that give me service, so I will take on what I safely can.
 
I have 60 gal usable. I flight plan (conservatively) assuming 12 gph though it's normally closer to 11. The most I've ever put in at one time is ~40 gal. I get nervous when I can't see the fuel level looking down the neck and I don't have a properly calibrated stick. The bottom line is, though I'll profess a personal minimum of 1 hour fuel reserve on landing, in practice I will add at least some fuel whenever I'm at a field that carries fuel, and I estimate that I'm under half tanks.
 
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