If an aircraft consumes 13 gallons of AvGas per hour with a groundspeed of 165 knots in a 12 knot tailwind, how much fuel is required to travel 480 NM?

To determine the amount of fuel required for the flight, we first need to calculate the total time it takes to travel 480 nautical miles (NM) given the groundspeed, which is affected by the tailwind.

The aircraft has a groundspeed of 165 knots with a 12-knot tailwind. To calculate the effective groundspeed for the trip, we would typically add the tailwind to the aircraft's true airspeed (assuming calm conditions). However, since we are given the groundspeed directly (165 knots), we use this figure to find the travel time.

Next, we calculate the travel time using the formula:

Travel Time (hours) = Distance (NM) / Groundspeed (knots)

Substituting in the known values:

Travel Time = 480 NM / 165 knots = approximately 2.91 hours.

Now that we have the travel time, we can calculate the total fuel consumption by multiplying the hourly fuel consumption by the travel time. The aircraft consumes 13 gallons of AvGas per hour, so:

Total Fuel Consumption (gallons) = Hourly Fuel Consumption (gallons/hour) × Travel Time (hours)

Total Fuel Consumption = 13 gallons/hour × 2.91 hours =