Fuel tanks; Internal & External use priority

[Max]

Is there info available related to the priority of fuel tank usage for the various in-game aircraft? Thanks

[FLS]

The fuel gauge tells you the fuel use priority.

If you mean the alleged benefits of manual fuel control I'm not aware of any charts for all the aircraft.

I'd suggest testing to verify any claims of superior handling.

I've never seen any data or video evidence comparing the differences.

[morfiend]

Max,

  Not sure if this is what you're looking for but some A/C pay a price in drag if you use a DT and others dont. The racks are always there on most US planes so you dont have a drag penalty if you add a DT,well the DT adds drag but once you drop it then there's no drag. If that makes sense.

 Most the German planes needed a rack to carry a DT so even after you jettison the tank you still have a drag penalty from the rack. IIRC only the TA152 has the rack as standard so you are best off not loading a DT to a German plane unless you really need it.


 Hope that helps.


   

[1stpar3]

Its the same with Rockets and Bombs on some planes too? I have heard it talked about, but dont know for sure. The "Added Drag" Penalty

[Max]

 I’m not speaking so much in terms of drag, but should I manually change the default usage. I’ve heard it’s best to use  top tank first in a Spitfire and the bottom tank comes up first by default. I believe the FW 190s also want to be swapped out in terms of default, yes? Any other situations concerning fuel usage I should be aware of?

[FLS]

How does the top or bottom tank change the center of gravity with respect to the center of lift?

I think you should try both aircraft both ways and let me know if you notice a difference.   

[TryHard]

I like to drain the left wing tank in the F4U-1D first and leave the right tank full until the main tank is empty to help with the torque roll in turn fights.

other than that the automatic control works pretty well, for instance the P51 is known to handle quite poorly with the AUX tank full of fuel and this is what the automatic system uses first.

[Arlo]

I like to drain the left wing tank in the F4U-1D first and leave the right tank full until the main tank is empty to help with the torque roll in turn fights.

other than that the automatic control works pretty well, for instance the P51 is known to handle quite poorly with the AUX tank full of fuel and this is what the automatic system uses first.

F4U-1A.   

[Max]

I like to drain the left wing tank in the F4U-1D first and leave the right tank full until the main tank is empty to help with the torque roll in turn fights.

other than that the automatic control works pretty well, for instance the P51 is known to handle quite poorly with the AUX tank full of fuel and this is what the automatic system uses first.

Good info, thanks

[SIK1]

F4U-1A.   

Arlo is correct, it's the F4U-1A (and birdcage corsair) that have internal wing fuel tanks. The F4U-1D only has the one main internal fuel tank. 
Burning the left wing tank in the corsair is suppose to improve the roll rate when you are full of fuel. I can't say if it does or not because I have been doing it for as long as I can remember, and have nothing to judge not doing it against.

For the most part the automatic system works well. One thing you can do is research the individual planes you enjoy flying and see what the actual pilots manual has to say. http://www.zenoswarbirdvideos.com/ can be a great source for WWII training films

 
Sik

[FLS]

I like to drain the left wing tank in the F4U-1D first and leave the right tank full until the main tank is empty to help with the torque roll in turn fights.
...

You roll in a turn fight when you stall one wing first, generally from adverse yaw. The correction for adverse yaw is with the rudder. 

[LCADolby]

How does the top or bottom tank change the center of gravity with respect to the center of lift?

I think you should try both aircraft both ways and let me know if you notice a difference.   

Spitfires have very odd stall characteristics if draining the bottom first. They almost become as coookey as a P39 to fly.

[FLS]

Could you be more specific? Curious about the details.

[RichardDarkwood]

I’m not speaking so much in terms of drag, but should I manually change the default usage. I’ve heard it’s best to use  top tank first in a Spitfire and the bottom tank comes up first by default. I believe the FW 190s also want to be swapped out in terms of default, yes? Any other situations concerning fuel usage I should be aware of?

The forward tank in the 190 is burned first
Aileron tanks on the 38 are burned first

[LCADolby]

In the 190 The AFTer should be drained first, in F then the MIDdle. Draining the ForWarD tank first like the Spit's TOP tank causes oddities in handling especially on the knife edge.