Manual fuel tank selection, especially for drop tanks

[Tiberius]

In the F51, there is a fuel tank selector, which enables to chose between the different tanks, especially to select the external drop tanks. This enables the use of fuel in external tanks first, for the to jettison them, when empty.

Currently, in the game, every plane uses fuel from different tanks at the same time, which leads to the drop tanks being emptied alongside the regular, onboard tanks.

An option to choose tanks would enable the drop tanks to be used first, then dropped empty, and after that the usage of the internal tanks. So, an option to use drop tanks first, would be more realistic and also highly appreciated, to use the drop tanks in a more logical and realistic fashion. Either modelling the selector, where available in the plane, or at least make an option to choose between external and internal tanks would help a great deal.

Otherwise, I love the game already, realism and atmosphere are at a very good balance. Really awesome!

Kind regards, Tiberius

[Tiberius]

Afterthought: or model the system so that the drop tank fuel is used first. Anyway like that would be helpful.

[Dash,Polder]

You have to be careful, some of these aircraft required a certain amount of fuel in internals to be burned off prior to using external fuel.  There was no fuel pumps in these tanks and vacuum or high pressurized air was used to transfer, so transfers can't be regulated.  If your tanks are too full to receive the full amount, your fuel is vented overboard as part of the built in standard pressure relief found on nearly every aircraft capable of doing a fuel transfer. 

[Gavrick]

14 часов назад, Tiberius сказал:

Afterthought: or model the system so that the drop tank fuel is used first. Anyway like that would be helpful.

Currently, control over the fuel system (tanks and valves) is not available to the player (although we do intend to make it accessible in the future).
However, the fuel system itself is modeled correctly.

The fuel consumption logic depends on the aircraft. For example, on the Mustang, fuel is always drawn from the rear tank (at least partially), then from the drop tanks, then from the wing tanks — with the left and right tanks switching periodically to prevent fuel from remaining on only one side.
On the Yak‑9 and La‑11, fuel is consumed from the central feed tank, which receives fuel by gravity from the wing tanks, so it may appear that fuel is being drawn from all tanks simultaneously.
The F‑80 has a rather complex fuel management system with transfer pumps moving fuel from the wing tanks to the fuselage tank.

And yes, in the simple instruments, you can enable a simplified fuel tank display. If the aircraft allows selecting which tank is feeding the engine, that tank will be highlighted in white (if not, as on the Yak, all tanks are highlighted). The systems screen also shows the actual fuel quantity in each tank.

[Tiberius]

Got it, thanks for the feedback!

[Whittle]

On 7/6/2026 at 7:37 AM, Gavrick said:

Currently, control over the fuel system (tanks and valves) is not available to the player (although we do intend to make it accessible in the future).
However, the fuel system itself is modeled correctly.

The fuel consumption logic depends on the aircraft. For example, on the Mustang, fuel is always drawn from the rear tank (at least partially), then from the drop tanks, then from the wing tanks — with the left and right tanks switching periodically to prevent fuel from remaining on only one side.
On the Yak‑9 and La‑11, fuel is consumed from the central feed tank, which receives fuel by gravity from the wing tanks, so it may appear that fuel is being drawn from all tanks simultaneously.
The F‑80 has a rather complex fuel management system with transfer pumps moving fuel from the wing tanks to the fuselage tank.

And yes, in the simple instruments, you can enable a simplified fuel tank display. If the aircraft allows selecting which tank is feeding the engine, that tank will be highlighted in white (if not, as on the Yak, all tanks are highlighted). The systems screen also shows the actual fuel quantity in each tank.

In an F51 with no damage, it ended up with 5 gallons in one wing and more than 30 in the other - I think this needs to be checked.

Secondly, in the P-51 in Great Battles, when around 60% fuel or less was selected before spawning in, the rear tank would be empty. This does not appear to be the case in Korea. Is there a reason for this?

[Artfactial]

Quote

On 7/5/2026 at 11:37 PM, Gavrick said:

Currently, control over the fuel system (tanks and valves) is not available to the player (although we do intend to make it accessible in the future).
However, the fuel system itself is modeled correctly.

The fuel consumption logic depends on the aircraft. For example, on the Mustang, fuel is always drawn from the rear tank (at least partially), then from the drop tanks, then from the wing tanks — with the left and right tanks switching periodically to prevent fuel from remaining on only one side.
On the Yak‑9 and La‑11, fuel is consumed from the central feed tank, which receives fuel by gravity from the wing tanks, so it may appear that fuel is being drawn from all tanks simultaneously.
The F‑80 has a rather complex fuel management system with transfer pumps moving fuel from the wing tanks to the fuselage tank.

And yes, in the simple instruments, you can enable a simplified fuel tank display. If the aircraft allows selecting which tank is feeding the engine, that tank will be highlighted in white (if not, as on the Yak, all tanks are highlighted). The systems screen also shows the actual fuel quantity in each tank.

 

Ah, excellent, good to hear! That would explain the very limited fuel valve/tank selection keymapping options at the moment.
Looking forward to having more control on that in the future.:)