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A dripstick is a tube installed vertically in the bottoms of fuel tanks of many large aircraft. To read a dripstick, it is withdrawn from the lower surface of the wing. When the top of the dripstick is withdrawn below the level of the fuel, fuel enters the dripstick and drips through a hole in the cap.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. A floatstick is enclosed within a second tube, around which is a ring-shaped float that contains a magnet. There is also a magnet attached to the top of the floatstick. The floatstick is withdrawn from the bottom of the wing until the magnets stick, indicating the level of the fuel.
External links
Boeing 737 Floatstick (http://www.b737.org.uk/dripstick.htm)
Boeing 727 Dripstick Chart (http://www.boeing-727.com/Data/fluidfuel/Dripstick%20Tank%2013.PDF)
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