Fuel Burn Calculator

Estimate fuel required for a trip against fuel on board, with a live fuel/endurance gauge, a marked legal reserve band, and a go/no-go verdict.

Calculator Aviation Updated Jun 14, 2026
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Learn how this works
How to Use
  1. Enter your usable fuel on board (gallons) and the burn rate (gph).
  2. Enter the trip distance and your planned ground speed — trip time and fuel required are computed for you.
  3. Set the reserve minutes (45 for day VFR, 30 for some operations) to mark the reserve band.
  4. Read the fuel/endurance gauge: green means comfortable margin, amber means eating into reserve, red means short.
  5. Tap a typical aircraft in the reference card to load its burn rate.
Inputs
Presets
Typical GA burn rates — tap to set
Cessna 1526 gph
Cessna 1728.5 gph
Piper PA-28 Cherokee10 gph
Beechcraft Bonanza15 gph
Cirrus SR2218 gph
Cessna Caravan40 gph
Fuel required
—
gal required for the trip
—
—
Burn rate
—
Trip time
—
Required
—
Endurance

Show Work

Enter values to see the step-by-step calculation.

Definitions

Trip time
= distance / GS
Fuel required
= burn_rate × trip_time
Endurance
= usable_fuel / GPH
Reserve fuel
= GPH × (reserve_min / 60)
No-wind range
= (usable − reserve) / GPH × GS

About the Fuel Burn Calculator

The Fuel Burn Calculator is a free tool for flight planning and aircraft performance. It runs right in your web browser, so there is nothing to download. Estimate fuel required for a trip against fuel on board, with a live fuel/endurance gauge, a marked legal reserve band, and a go/no-go verdict.

How it works

Type your numbers into the boxes. The answer shows up right away — you do not have to press a button. If you change a number, the answer changes too. So you can try different numbers and watch what happens, or check an answer you worked out yourself. Just make sure each box has the right kind of number in it.

Want the deeper story? The Knowledge Base explains the ideas behind the tools in more detail.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I use the Fuel Burn Calculator?

Just type your numbers. The answer shows up right away — there is no button to press. Change anything and it updates by itself.

Is it free? Does it work without internet?

Yes to both. It is free with no sign-up, and once the page has loaded it keeps working even with no internet.

Where does my data go?

Nowhere — every calculation runs on your own device. Nothing you enter is uploaded, logged, or stored.

Common Use Cases

Learn while you do it

Seeing what you put in and what comes out helps you understand how they fit together.

Get an answer fast

Type what you have and get the answer in seconds — on a phone, tablet, or computer.

Try different numbers

Change one thing and watch the answer change. It is an easy way to compare your choices.

Safe and private

Everything you type stays on your device. Nothing is sent to a server or saved.

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