Modernization and standardization of aircraft fuel quantity indicating systems

In May 1991, the San Antonio Air Logistics Center sponsored a study to investigate the feasibility of standardizing fuel quantity indicating systems (FQISs) in existing US Air Force aircraft. The study resulted in a recommendation that FQISs be standardized and employ ultrasonic technology and a centralized processing architecture. The author describes the modernization and evolution of fuel quantity indicating systems, highlights selected aspects of the study, including an evaluation of new technologies used in fuel quantity sensing and an evaluation of tradeoffs between distributed and centralized processing architectures, proposes a standard FQIS, and projects trends in FQISs in military aircraft over the next decade