Fuel sight gauge

L

lesabend

New member
New to the Decathlon. Is the fuel sight gauge designed to be unreadable at all times except for the placard that indicates something is visible when the tanks might be empty? Or am I just blind? :) I'm used to a Super Cub or Husky sight gauge which actually displays tank level. What am I missing?
 
One gets used to the constant fluctuation and mentally averages the movements. Same goes for the inevitable uneven flow; this time between tanks (assuming you have gauges on both sides.) I fly strictly by time, leaving a one-hour reserve, which can look very low at under 1/4 tanks. Always calculate fuel flow by topping off every time and dividing gallons by time. My airplane is a Citabria w/O-320, but the concept is universal.

Or, you could just wait for calm conditions and the gauges will work fine :D
 
Thanks, Robert. I only have the one sight gauge on the right side. And honestly, I've never been able to see a damn thing in the viewport. What am I supposed to see? Fortunately, a JPI was installed before I purchased the airplane. And yes, between the JPI and time calculations, the IO-320 hasn't coughed from fuel exhaustion...but then I scare easily so the tanks generally remain about 1/4 full.
 
The husky and cub use a manometer style, a tube brought into the cabin, basically.
Champs use float system. If you only have one port, then you must have the older screw-in style. Those are harder to read than the newer Rochester gauges; which I think came in around 1974. Or maybe 1979. I don't remember.
 
Thanks, Jerry. Yup, my Decathlon is a 1973 model. I guess I can cancel my eye doctor appointment. Perhaps one of the aero engineers at Bellanca was a sadist.
 
My 1965 7ECA has a single gauge in the right wing root and it is easy to read the gauge. How accurate is another question.

If you cannot see anything, I suspect you have a broken gauge mechanism. Or maybe someone painted over the glass. :shock:

Dale
 
Thanks, Dale. I'll get the microscope out with a flashlight and get a better look at the eye test in the wing root. Maybe I'm just using the wrong technique
 
I have the same problem and I find the problem is not enough light to see the numbers which is most of the time. An instrument light would be a big help.
 
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