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Hi Dave....
My model is a 1973 337G (no turbo and no pressure). Fuel determination can be a bit of a challenge for these planes. My plane has 4 tanks in each wing and one place to fuel all four way out towards the end of the wing and then the fuel SLOWLY feeds down to the inboard tanks. A calibrated dipstick would not work on my plane because I would only be dipping the outermost tank. I don't know if you have been reading about all my fuel gauge troubles lately but up until a few weeks ago I had very good luck with my gauges being very accurate and dependable. I do however never rely on them.
My methodology for determining fuel quantity is quite rudimentary but very dependable. When I top the tanks, making sure to take my time so the fuel has time to feed down to the inner tanks, I simply subtract 20 gallons for every hour I fly. Realistically the fuel burn is more like 16-18 gallons per hour but 20 makes a nice conservative round number guesstimate. You will most likely need to take the time to "get to know" your airplane and see precisely what it takes at the pump when you top it off. I find that I can usually be within 2 gallons when I fill her up. Just make sure your first few flights are with full tanks and learn what she uses and then add a little extra per hour for your flight planning and you will be fine. As I said, rudimentary but accurate enough.
I will reiterate once again, top her off SLOWLY and give the fuel time to feed down the line. The fuel pumps are ALWAYS faster than the plane can take the fuel. I personally will go back and fourth between each wing at least twice and occasionally 3 times if I was too impatient while SLOWLY feeding the tank the last several gallons.
My gauges always made a nice X-check with my math and I hope to have those back on line within a few days!
Hope this helps!
Ed Asmus
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