Airliners.net

Is that what he's doing?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/twa1049g/15272032520

If so, he'd have to have a chart for the DC-7 translating the rod reading into gallons-- a chart for each tank on the DC-7. How many tanks in each wing-- two? Was this measurement just a check, and not too important?

This is not dripping the aircraft as I assume you would have to be below the wings for that?

Perhaps just checking the depth in an old fashioned and rather unreliable fashion?

Quoting flyorski (Reply 1):

You're quite correct. What he's doing is "dipping" the tanks. I believe that the sticks were marked in gallons and different scales (sides of the stick) were used for the inboard or outboard tanks.

Quoting timz (Thread starter): Was this measurement just a check, and not too important?

It isn't 100% accurate (for example, a sloped ramp is enough to slightly throw off readings), but it gives a very usable ballpark measurement.

I can't speak for historical usage of dipsticks in commercial settings or any associated regulations, but in the Cessna 172, I won't start the engine before flight without dipping both tanks. (Unless they are obviously full to the brink and about to spill over.)

When all you have to peek through is that tiny poorly-lit hole in the top of the wing, 60%-full tanks can look suspiciously like 75%-full tanks. Obviously, in flight, if you're at 60% but planned for 75%, you're in trouble. Always prudent to get a usable confirmation of what your eye and/or the pump on the fuel truck is telling you.

Quoting flyorski (Reply 1):

Quoting FlightShadow (Reply 3):

Quoting timz (Thread starter):

Quoting FlightShadow (Reply 3):

You will be surpriised to know it's accuraxy is quite good and it's beeing used. This is the plan B when there is a total or parcial (individual tank) failure of Fuel Quantity Indicating System. Also when system loss is accurracy. It is a method that allow airplane dispatch for several days w/o disrupting service, till a permanet repair is made.

There are several sticks in each tank, enough to have differents fuel distribution covered. Now they are located in the lower wing surface. Long time ago, there were "wet" sticks, (B707...) you lowered the stick till fuel start flowing from a perpendicular to the stick orifice.
Now they are called "Dry". There is a sealed cilinder inside the tank, in the outside, wet, part of the cylinder there is a magnet attached to a float who move up and down following fuel level in this part of tank, when stick is released from flight all the way up/lock position, it moves inside the cylinder and stop there where iron tip on the top of the stiick is fixed by magnet, this is the actual scale reading. Manufacturer calibrates the sticks and determine which ones should be used in dependance of requiered fuel configuration.
The reading is corrected in dependence of aircraft pitch and roll parked angle and, by calculation, to actual fuel density..
Pitch and roll may be taken from physical inclinometers located in most of the planes in main landing gear bay., or, in modern a/c, from the inertial system reading on the onboard display unit. And finally, in the MD11 you enter the drip sticks readings in the FMC 's Display Unitt, the fuel density value and the computer makes the whole calculation .

[img] http://www.flight.org/r/2013/12/570/747-fuel-stick.jpg [/img]

Quoting Apprentice (Reply 4): Now they are called "Dry".

Quoting Apprentice (Reply 4): it moves inside the cylinder and stop there where iron tip on the top of the stiick is fixed by magnet, this is the actual scale reading

They are called "Magnasticks" now.

Alot better than Boeings pisser sticks.

KD

Quoting Apprentice (Reply 4):

Ah, thank you for that information! I stand corrected about measurement accuracy.

When I was working for DL at SLC (pre WA merger) our 727s to ATL almost always had full tanks, particularly in the summer. If we happened to have an inop gauge , we would just pull the most outboard drip stick on the side that was inop and when it started squirting, the fueler knew when to stop fueling. Not very "technically" accurate, but pretty well actually full.

Quoting Apprentice (Reply 4): Long time ago, there were "wet" sticks, (B707...) you lowered the stick till fuel start flowing from a perpendicular to the stick orifice.

I remember these! During my apprenticeship at LH we did line maintenance for the 707 of MEA. There for fuelling the flight engineer would give us a paper with drip stick readings, to which we would set the sticks and then fill the tanks until fuel was running out of the sticks (no fuel gauges at the fuelling panel).
The older guys liked to play a trick on us young 'uns. If you didn' check where the wind was coming from, you were likely to get sprayed with fuel when watching the sticks.

Jan

"Sticking" the tanks works great when the tank is rigid and the plane is parked on level ground. Add bladder style tanks to the equation (especially when they get old!) and everything goes out the window  

Quoting KELPkid (Reply 9):

Not to much airplanes with rubber blades nowadays. Last I remember, DC-10-30 and only the lower center tanks, out of memory only around 2000 kg and not used very frequently.
Concerning aircraft position when parked, the calculations take that into account, see my post above.

Rgds