A dripstick is a thin hollow tube installed vertically in the bottoms of fuel tank

Fuel tank

A fuel tank is safe container for flammable fluids. Though any storage tank for fuel may be so called, the term is typically applied to part of an engine system in which the fuel is stored and propelled or released into an engine...

s of many large aircraft

Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...

, used to check fuel levels. To read a dripstick, it is withdrawn from the lower surface of the wing

Wing

A wing is an appendage with a surface that produces lift for flight or propulsion through the atmosphere, or through another gaseous or liquid fluid...

. When the top of the dripstick is withdrawn below the level of the fuel

Fuel

Fuel is any material that stores energy that can later be extracted to perform mechanical work in a controlled manner. Most fuels used by humans undergo combustion, a redox reaction in which a combustible substance releases energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in the air...

, fuel enters the dripstick and drips through a hole in the cap. Graduations on the dripstick indicate the level of the fuel in the tank.

Newer aircraft use a floatstick

Floatstick

A floatstick is a device to measure fuel levels in modern large aircraft. It is made up of two tubes, one enclosed within the other, around which is a ring-shaped float that contains a magnet. There is also a magnet attached to the top of the floatstick...

.

External links

• Boeing 727 Dripstick Chart