Definition
A measure of the rate at which an aircraft's engine burns fuel, expressed as the volume of fuel consumed in one hour of operation. It is the standard unit used in piston-engine performance charts and fuel planning in the United States, and is typically reported for specific power settings, altitudes, and mixture conditions.
Plain English
How many gallons of fuel the engine uses in one hour of flying.
Context Anchor
Seen in fuel planning, performance charts, aircraft manuals, and fuel consumption calculations before and during flight.
Why Pilots Care
It lets pilots calculate remaining endurance, plan fuel stops, and avoid running out of fuel in flight.
Intuition Check
Gallons per hour is not the amount of fuel in the tanks. It is the rate at which fuel is being used over time.
Example Sentence 1
At 65 percent power and 8,000 feet, the POH shows a fuel burn of 8.4 gallons per hour.
Example Sentence 2
The pilot used the gallons per hour figure to estimate how long the remaining fuel would last.