Increasing fuel amounts in a b-25

I have been flying a B-25 model for a few months now. I enjoy it and I can land on many different sorts of runways with it and not be too unrealistic. But, I would like to increase the range on it as if it had an auxiliary tank in the bomb bay. There might be several ways of doing this, but one way that occurred to me is to modify the values for the existing tanks. Here is the relevant portion of the aircraft.cfg

 

[fuel]

LeftMain=-5.400, -4.580, 0.820, 335.000, 0.000

LeftAux=-4.830, -11.900, 1.420, 152.000, 0.000

RightMain=-5.400, 4.580, 0.820, 335.000, 0.000

RightAux=-4.830, 11.900, 1.420, 152.000, 0.000

fuel_type=1.000000

number_of_tank_selectors=1

electric_pump=1

 

If I were to increase the amount of fuel available in each existing tank would that cause extraordinary issues with performance? I am thinking of changing the amounts in the main tanks from 335.00 to something like 350.00. Not a huge change perhaps, but enough to gain a bit more range for some flights. I have never tried this before and I thought I would run it past the folks here before I try it.

 

Any help is appreciated.

Mike - You are adding 15 gallons to each main tank, 30 gals total. It won't take long for those big radials to consume those 30 gals, so will the change give you extra range, I don't think so! But, give it a whirl! Adding fuel can change the weight & balance of the aircraft, but 30 gals is such a small amount, you probably won't see any significant change.

 

Rick :cool:

 

Mike - I just looked at the B-25 I have, and the weight and balance as it is right now, will only allow you to add 6 more gallons, which isn't much. You can experiment, play around with the settings to see what happens! You have your original settings in this post, so you can always fall back to what they were before you started! Good luck!

Edited July 10, 2021 by Downwind66

Mike = I just added 15 gallons to each main tank and the weight & balance is still okay, SOOOOOOO, go for it and see if that help your range situation!

 

Rick :cool::cool:

It did help some. What I am working towards recreating are some of the missions flown out of Attu during WWII to Shumshu Island in the Kuriles. My wife's grandfather lost his life on such a mission and I have been interested in recreating this. I can just ignore the lack of fuel of course, but I would like to be more realistic if I can. I plan to test it later today. I also need to play with the RPM and mixture settings more.

It did help some. What I am working towards recreating are some of the missions flown out of Attu during WWII to Shumshu Island in the Kuriles. My wife's grandfather lost his life on such a mission and I have been interested in recreating this. I can just ignore the lack of fuel of course, but I would like to be more realistic if I can. I plan to test it later today. I also need to play with the RPM and mixture settings more.

 

Do look at prevailing weather and be prepared to adjust your height to maximise range.

 

A headwind at 10,000 could be a 50-knot tailwind 15,000 feet higher...