John McKensie's very wonderful reports on his manufacturing of an FE2b include photos of a "sight gage" on the day-tank.
This is a vertical glass tube, housed in a bronze fitting for protection and installed in a niche on the side of the tank so that the level of its contents might be appraised.
I've seen this arrangement before. How about you?
Grumman Geese (Gooses?) had such sight gages on the wing tanks located over your shoulder. and over your head above the cockpit aft bulkhead.
On first seeing this arrangement, I asked if maybe there might have been a "safer" way to gauge the fuel.
I was told that this was a very good method since you could actually SEE the fuel - no mystery there.
The plane's owner also pointed out that the maintenance logs were in the pockets on the seat-backs.
This was all part of the system devised by Grumman to ensure that any accident arising out a sudden stop on arrival could be blamed on pilot-error.
The cockpit fire accompanying the breaking of the glass sight gages and the sudden contribution to combustion of the escaping av-gas would assure the immolation of the pilots and the logs leaving no alternative to this conclusion.
Imagine. Some of you might have thought this was only to make it easier to guess how much gas you had.
