PLT016: Fuel Calculations
What code PLT016 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study Fuel Calculations before your checkride.
Calculate fuel - dump time / weight / volume / quantity / consumption
What this means for your checkride
Fuel calculations convert among weight, volume, and time: avgas weighs about 6 pounds per gallon, and fuel burn in gallons per hour times flight time gives the fuel required. You plan usable fuel, subtract reserves, and confirm enough remains for the trip plus any alternate and a legal reserve.
Running out of fuel is entirely preventable, so the FAA tests converting fuel weight, volume, and consumption and computing endurance and reserves.
Pilots plan to the last usable gallon. The required reserve must stay untouched, and power and mixture settings change the burn rate, so the plan uses realistic consumption, not the best case.
Where to study it
A code on your test report is an area of deficiency. An authorized instructor must review it with you and endorse that review before you take the practical test, and the examiner may revisit it during the oral. Study it until you can explain it out loud, not just recognize the answer.