Just a quick question about fuel calculations on FS.

Please can someone give me advice on how much fuel I shoudl load into my aircraft before a flight.

Generally, I create a flight using he Flight Planner and then get an indication of the fuel required from the Nav Log. (Then add a bit more for taxiing, holding etc.)

I'm sure this is not the correct way of going about things. I often find that I'm running low on fuel beofre I get to my destination and hence unrealistically having to "top up" the tanks from the fuel menu in order to complete the flight!!

Any advice would be great!!

To conserve fuel, don't fly with throttles at 100%

If you have a look at the planner it will tell you you will
be travelling at max. cruise at all times and altitudes-
mine does anyway! Not realistic. Once you have worked out all your prop settings etc as suggested before add in weather and all other sundries(like 3 goarounds) add 20%. Basically,get a feel for what your flying and what it needs,monitor your flight all the way and  you'll develop a quick sense of whats required. Same as your letdowns,
once you're in the groove you'll nail it by instinct. To do
that, get out and fly the wings of it. Look and learn what the gauges are telling you and build hours.

This might honestly be the only stupid question ever asked, but:

Fueling station? ???  Is there a way I can taxi my aircraft up to a certain place on the tarmac and get someone to "fill 'er up"?   Or do you just mean using the fuel pull-down?

Oh my God!

Where does it say this in the FS software?!  I'll have to take a look at that.  I never really payed attention to the yellow squares, thinking they might have something to do with helos, which I almost never fly.

Thanx for the info!  I'm off to run my tanks dry right now!

It is probably true that a lot of folks don't know about the yellow squares.  I've been flying FS off and on since version 1 (yep! Still got the old manuals).  Somewhere along the way, they introduced this feature and made a big fuss.  But, since FS 98, I think, it has pretty much been taken for granted in the manuals etc and probably lots of folks who got into FS since then just ignored the yellow squares. 

HOWEVER this is one of my pet peeves:  they've never really done much with this feature.  When you sit there, after a few seconds, you're instantly full!  If you don't want all that fuel, you need to go into the Airplane menu and adjust. Thus, there is little point in going to the yellow squares, since you have to do it manually anyway.  I'd like to be able to specify how much full I want to take on.   Ah well...

lol, never tried that

???  Is there an easy way to find the refueling squares without driving all over the airport?

Or do some barnstorming 

Okay I used the drive thru approach and it still filled it 100% Hey,I'm not worried I've got the load set at 60% anyway. Interesting excersize anyway and no the last landing I did ENSN I did not see the square until I turned on the Taxiway.

I've got a point about those boxes as well.  Not only does it fuel you, but it repairs your AC also.  If you damage, let's say your prop, but are still able to make it to a box, it will repair the damage and you fly just like new.  for example, I botched a landing the other day in a Beech 1900D (US Air) struck my left wing and that prop stopped. I was able to limp it off the runway, saw the box and got it there quickly, I attempted again (did this on taxi to no avail) to start my left engine, and this time it worked. so they fill you up and repair damage. Just thought I'd add that in.  happy flying `Brent

If you (you=someone who knows a bit about CS) knew what line of code the 'yellow box' was couldnt you change it to just make the fuel selection screen popup when parked in the box?