Hello to all, I was wondering about the fuel reserve field in the preference page. How much would you normally put in there? I see the example in the manual says 9,800 lbs. I know this must vary for every flight, but is this an average amount for a flight? And how long will it last you for? Thank You :-)

This amount of fuel is minimum required in tanks when you land. It includes fuel for:- Alternate fuel: Go-around at destination, climb, cruise, descent and landing at your alternate airport. If you have multiple alternates, it is the furthest alternate.- Final reserve fuel: 30 minutes of holding at your alternate, 1500ft ISA, actual zero fuel weight.Putting this figure into your FMC is a great reminder, because once you're cutting into your reserve fuel, a message will pop up. If you land at your destination with less than this amount of fuel, you did something wrong during the planning phase of the flight or extraordinary outside circumstances caused it.Iz

I've noticed for quite a while now that no matter what value I enter under "reserves" in the FMC (e.g 8.0, 9.0 etc) i only get a "low fuel" message on the EICAS when my actual fuel drops below 5000 lbs. Everything else is working perfectly and I can certainly live without this functionality but i would like to understand what (if anything) i have done wrong.Thanks for any help.GraemeEGLL

Graeme,do you have PIC set up for KGS or LBS.Very important setting this.

For domestic US operations:45 minutes of reserve fuel + fuel to most distant alternate (If required. Use the "123" rule, one hour before landing, and one hour after destination wx must be at least 2000' ceiling, and 3 miles vis, no alternate required. Plus consideration given to conditions that may result in closure of the airport such as snow, or thunderstorms. Apply common sense. :-) )FAR 121 flag rules:Fuel to fly to and land at the most distant alternate. No alternate is required if flight is scheduled for 6 hours or less and 1 hour before, 1 hour after ETA at destination aerodrome:-ceiling at least 1500' above lowest circling approach MDA, if required, or-ceiling at least 1500' above lowest published instrument approach minimum, or 2000' AAE, whichever is greater, AND-vis at destination at least 3 sm, or 2 sm more than the lowest visibility minimums for the approach to be usedReserve is 10% of total time required to fly from the departure aerodrome and to land at the aerodrome to which it was released. Plus 30 mins of holding fuel at 1500' at min. holding speed above the alternate.Island Reserves:If no available alternate exists for the destination aerodrome. 2 hrs reserve at normal cruise burn. No reserve and contigency fuel required under 2 hr requirement.FMC reserves, so:US Domestic: 45 min, + alternate (if req)Flag Rules: Altn (if req) + 10% reserve figure + 30 min final reserveIsland: 2 hoursRegards,Graham

MarkIn trying to answer your question I have actually found the answer to my own!In the manual (I thought I had read it thoroughly - honest!) I have found an entry which states that the "Low Fuel" indication will be activated when "either wing tank fuel quantity drops below 2,200lbs"!Guess my problem wasn't really a problem after all - should have known better!BTW I can't seem to find where to change the fuel option in PIC from Lbs to Kgs and the manual doesn't seem to help on this one? Graeme