Aircraft fuel question

[PoorOldSpike]

Despite having OOB for 6 months and running tests and consulting the manual etc, I still can't figure out exactly when I need to start flying a plane back to base before its fuel runs out.
For example here's a still from an actual game, my Stuka is down to '2' turns of fuel remaining, and some hexes have turned red.
Must I NOW start flying back to base (well out of frame to the northwest) even though there are still some juicy targets around?
I naturally don't want to have to leave the combat zone til the last possible instant.
What exactly are the red hexes telling me anyway?
Thanks

[Mojko]

Leaving the plane at the red hex at the end of your turn means that your plane will not reach the airfield in time and will start taking damage before reaching the airfield. Note that this calculation takes into account current state of the airfields and it doesn't take into account units that may be blocking your airfields (your units). If you want to know the fuel limit for a plane before purchase you can use the Unit Navigator Tool for that. The barrel icon indicates the fuel limit for each plane.

[kondi754]

Despite having OOB for 6 months and running tests and consulting the manual etc, I still can't figure out exactly when I need to start flying a plane back to base before its fuel runs out.
For example here's a still from an actual game, my Stuka is down to '2' turns of fuel remaining, and some hexes have turned red.
Must I NOW start flying back to base (well out of frame to the northwest) even though there are still some juicy targets around?
I naturally don't want to have to leave the combat zone til the last possible instant.
What exactly are the red hexes telling me anyway?
Thanks

It says that you can't find yourself in the red hexes area after completing current turn, because you will not be able to reach the base before running out of fuel.
Running out of fuel before landing results (as you probably know) loss of HP or even destruction of the unit.
To maximize the use of my air unit, I attack the enemy target at the border of the red hexes zone and after the attack, I move the plane to the safe zone.

Mojko is right, you should check the available landing sites all the time

[PoorOldSpike]

Thanks guys I'll rum more tests to check out whether I need to immediately start returning to base when this message pops up, or whether I can risk sticking around near the front line for another turn or two of combat-




Note for OOB newcomers- When we're choosing which aircraft to buy, the data panel annoyingly doesn't tell us how much fuel they carry, but like Mojko said, his unit navigator tool tells us nicely with that "endurance" barrel icon second from the right on the top row (below)..
For example this Me109E can only stay airborne for 7 turns, so on a big map it might need 2 turns to get to the front line and another 2 to get back to base, leaving only 3 turns for actual combat!

[Shards]

Red hexes are indeed beyond Bingo fuel. Couple of other tips:

The red hexes system uses nearest potential airfield, even if that airfield is in the hot zone. So don't rely on it if you are in the area of operations near an airfield that's contested!

Secondly, don't forget that you get a bonus hex move if you make a bombing run, this might just get you back into range of base!

Lastly, you only take damage at the end of a turn with zero fuel, so you still get that last move to get to base if you are on zero!