Planning aid only. Always verify against your POH/AFM, operator SOPs, weather, alternates, and legal reserve requirements.
How this plane fuel calculator helps
Fuel planning is one of the most important parts of safe flight planning. This calculator gives you a fast estimate of total required fuel based on distance, expected groundspeed, burn rate, reserve time, taxi fuel, and contingency percentage. It also estimates fuel cost and approximate fuel weight.
Whether you fly piston, turboprop, or light jet aircraft, having a quick fuel burn estimate can help with go/no-go thinking, payload decisions, and route comparisons.
What the calculator includes
- Trip fuel: fuel required for cruise enroute based on distance and average groundspeed.
- Reserve fuel: extra fuel based on reserve minutes you enter.
- Contingency fuel: percentage buffer to absorb routing, wind, or performance uncertainty.
- Taxi/start fuel: fixed amount for startup, run-up, and taxi operations.
- Total fuel required: sum of all major planning buckets.
- Estimated cost: total fuel multiplied by your local price per unit.
Calculation method
1) Flight time estimate
Estimated flight time is calculated as:
Flight time (hours) = Distance (NM) / Groundspeed (kt)
2) Trip fuel
Trip fuel = Flight time × Burn rate
3) Reserve and contingency
Reserve fuel is based on reserve minutes converted to hours, then multiplied by burn rate. Contingency fuel is a percentage of trip fuel.
4) Total fuel and cost
Total fuel = Trip fuel + Reserve fuel + Contingency fuel + Taxi fuel
Cost = Total fuel × Fuel price
Best practices for real-world aviation fuel planning
- Use conservative groundspeed assumptions when weather is uncertain.
- Adjust burn rate for climb, mixture setting, anti-ice use, and altitude profile.
- Add realistic alternate and holding fuel when required.
- Check departure and destination fuel availability and operating hours.
- Never plan at minimum legal fuel if operational risk is elevated.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using still-air speed instead of expected groundspeed.
- Ignoring taxi delays and departure congestion.
- Applying one burn number to all phases of flight without correction.
- Forgetting that temperature and weight can affect fuel flow.
- Failing to re-calculate fuel when route or winds change.
Quick example
If your trip is 360 NM at 120 knots with a burn of 10 gal/hr, your flight time is 3.0 hours and trip fuel is 30 gallons. Add a 45-minute reserve (7.5 gallons), 10% contingency (3.0 gallons), and 2 gallons taxi fuel, and total planned fuel becomes 42.5 gallons.
Final note
This plane fuel calculator is a practical planning tool for pilot workflow, dispatch prep, and scenario analysis. It is not a substitute for certified performance data, legal requirements, or professional flight planning procedures.