generally speaking, how much reserve fuel should a jet like a 767 or 777 land with or how much reserve fuel should be figured in with the total fuel of a flight? would you figure the amount for a certain extra flying time beyond the arrival airport? william

Land with something less than 15,000lbs for the 767...http://www.ldsflyingclub.com/siggies/ds.gif

Legally, you have to have enough fuel to fly from your departure airport to your destination airport, then on to your alternate, then another 60 (or is it 45?) minutes' reserve at low-altitude cruise. Typically small amounts will be tacked onto that for taxi, possible holds, headwinds, etc.The most important number to remember is whatever your max landing weight is. For the 767-300ER (like the Level-D), that's 310,000 pounds. You want to be under 310,000 pounds when you land, but still have enough fuel to satisfy all the legal requirements.Lewis "Moose" GregoryRichmond, Virginia

APU/Taxi+Trip fuel+Contingency fuel (usually 5% of the trip fuel)+Fuel from destination to alternate+Final reserve (fuel required for a 30 minute hold over the alternate at 1500')-----------------=Recommended FuelThis is the minimum fuel you can leave the gate with, but you as the Captain can always decide to carry extra fuel for a number of reasons (WX, holding etc).And Lewis is right, you have to watch your estimated landing weight when fuel planning, you don't want to exceed your MLW when you land.Miltos

thanks dshutt,lewis and miltos. very helpful info. one more question, how or what determines where the alternate airport will be? thanks again, william

Hi again William,There are several factors that determine the useability of an airport as a destination alternate. I'll give you a couple of examples.-First of all, the airport has to be suitable for the particular aircraft type (runway length, facilities, rescue&fire fighting category etc). Plus the operating hours need to be checked. You don't want the airport to be closed when you get there:-).-Weather at the alternate should not be worse than at the destination. Therefore forecasts need to be checked as well.-Distance from the destination is also a factor. If it's too close, the same bad weather that causes you to divert may affect the alternate as well. If it's too far, crew might exceed their duty limits and not be able to return to the destination when conditions improve. Plus, pax want to get to their destination, not some other airport a couple of hundred miles away:-). Generally speaking, I try to avoid using an alternate more than an hour away from the destination, unless there are no other suitable airports.There are factors as well, mostly related to company policy, but these should get you going:) Miltos

thanks miltos, just what i wanted to know. happy flying. william