Fuel gauges

[Cardolan]

One thing that keeps intriguing me in this excellent sim is how the Spitifre Mk IX (both versions), when I look at their instrument panels at the beggining of the mission, the fuel gauge is on absolute zero and keeps there until the fuel ends.

I cannot calculate for how long I still have juice to fly with the neddle at zero. I need to rely on the warning message stating I only have fuel for 10 more minutes of flying, which sometimes it is too late (thinking about Normandy map, playing as a fighter based in England).

 

Related with this, it seems the Tempest suffers from a problem too. In its case, the fuel gauge starts close to maximum and never comes down (at least following an aproximate 100 mile flight).

 

Can someone enlighten me what is it going on and what I am doing wrong?

 

Thank you all.

[Skycat1969]

Spitfires have two fuel tanks. The fuel guage reads one or the other. The guage is normally always set for one of the tanks, the top one that drains first I think, but there is a button on the panel that lets you switch to the other tank for as long as the button is held in. The game used to automatically 'ping' the second tank every few seconds and you'd see the needle swing without prompt. Now you have to use a key combo to check the second tank. (The FW 190 is similar, and I think a few others too.)

 

I don't recall how the Tempest fuel guage works. Maybe it is opposite behavior of the Spitfire's?

[Calos_01]

Spitfires really have two tanks. Top one is not gauged and is beeing spent first. Only bottom one is gauged. You need to push button (shit+I I believe) to make gauge to show current level of the fuel. 

That means, that spitfire gauge always shows full tank untill top one is empty

[Calos_01]

As for the Tempest, it has several fuel tanks, and I think each one has its own gauge. They are different sizes; look for them on the dashboard. Some aircraft have one gauge for several tanks; shift+I then switches between the individual tanks, and the gauge always shows the fuel level in the specific tank. 

[ShamrockOneFive]

For the fuel readout in the Spitfire IX there's a button that the pilot has to press manually to get the reading. There isn't a keybind for that so the button gets pushed for several seconds every 60 or so seconds (I've never timed it). But look at the gauge for a short period of time and it will get checked and you can see how much you've got left in the primary tank.

 

The Tempest has four fuel gauges, some of which are hidden behind stuff, and this often confuses people unfamiliar with the aircraft's multiple tank system. If you're using the default view and not using head tracking or manual camera positioning to move the default viewpoint, you may not see the other gauges. They are there and they work accurately.

[Skycat1969]

I just tested some of the planes in VR. I have a Voice Attack command for the fuel gauge/fuel selector keybind.

 

- Spitfire Mk. IXe, with 50% fuel:  The gauge needle reads empty tank unless I "push" the fuel button.

- Spitfire Mk. XIV:  There are two independent gauges.

- Typhoon Mk. IB:  There is a fuel selector with four positions. The fuel gauge changes as you rotate through each tank.

- Tempest:  There is one large fuel gauge and three small gauges. I didn't notice a fuel selector. (I usually fly the RAF and German aircraft with engine assists enabled.) 

Edited October 23 by Skycat1969

[FeuerFliegen]

2 hours ago, ShamrockOneFive said:

There isn't a keybind for that so the button gets pushed for several seconds every 60 or so seconds (I've never timed it)

 

That's how it used to be, before they implemented the ability to check and switch between different fuel tanks.  Now you check by pressing right shift + i

 

 

1 hour ago, Skycat1969 said:

- Spitfire Mk. IV:  There are two independent gauges.

 

There is no Spitfire Mk. IV, but I assume maybe you meant the Mk.XIV?

 

[ShamrockOneFive]

7 minutes ago, FeuerFliegen said:

That's how it used to be, before they implemented the ability to check and switch between different fuel tanks.  Now you check by pressing right shift + i

Oh I missed that one! Ok.... OP, ignore what I said. Push the button!

[AcesDarthBubu]

Haven't seen the top gauge goes to empty before, only noticed the bottom gauge has changes upon button pressing. Is that how spits fuel gauge works?

[LukeFF]

19 minutes ago, AcesDarthBubu said:

Haven't seen the top gauge goes to empty before, only noticed the bottom gauge has changes upon button pressing. Is that how spits fuel gauge works?

 

[Skycat1969]

^^^

Now we know. And knowing is half the battle!

[AcesDarthBubu]

2 hours ago, LukeFF said:

 

Thanks LukeFF. Ya thought so, must have misread thinking top fuel tank gauge has a way to "read" it.

[Cardolan]

Thanks to all that posted!

[LukeFF]

10 hours ago, AcesDarthBubu said:

Thanks LukeFF. Ya thought so, must have misread thinking top fuel tank gauge has a way to "read" it.

 

NP! British cockpits can be quirky sometimes with stuff like this. 😄

BTW, on this subject, the Spitfire XIV fuel gauge works differently - both tanks are gauged. You'll see the needle on the right-hand side go down first and then the left-hand one. Combined, they show the entire fuel amount in both the top and bottom tanks (about 85 gallons IIRC). The red line was just an indication to the pilot as to when to transfer fuel from the wing tanks to the centerline tanks. 

[Cardolan]

Hi LukeFF!

 

Thank you again for your insights.

 

Can you tell me what is the stock key that allows the pilot to "transfer fuel from the wing tanks to the centerline tanks"? Any aircraft with more than a single tank need this operation to be performed?

[LukeFF]

4 minutes ago, Cardolan said:

Can you tell me what is the stock key that allows the pilot to "transfer fuel from the wing tanks to the centerline tanks"? Any aircraft with more than a single tank need this operation to be performed?

 

It's automatically carried out by the AI for you. Manual fuel transfers were planned at one point for GB but then scrapped.

[Cardolan]

Thanks yet again!