What is the spare fuel requirement for the T-6A to legally fly?

What is the spare fuel requirement for the T-6A to legally fly?

• A. Greater than zero
• B. Greater than or equal to zero
• C. Greater than five pounds
• D. No spare fuel required

Answer: (B)

Spare fuel is the amount of fuel left after you’ve accounted for the planned trip fuel and reserves, and it serves as a cushion for contingencies. For the T-6A, the minimum allowed spare fuel to fly legally is non-negative, meaning you must have at least zero pounds of spare fuel. You can carry more if needed, but you cannot have negative spare fuel. This is why the correct choice points to spare fuel being greater than or equal to zero. Saying there’s no spare fuel required would be misleading, since zero spare fuel is still a valid minimum; the key idea is that the spare must not be negative. If your calculation ever yields a negative spare, you’re under-fueled and not within legal/acceptable limits.