An apparatus and method for improving the fuel range of an aircraft are provided. The aircraft includes a fuselage with a front windshield, and an external skin providing a top cover for a cockpit of the aircraft. The apparatus includes an aerodynamic fairing secured adjacent the windshield and enclosing the external skin covering the cockpit for a reduction in an abrupt change in area encountered by air flowing along the length of the fuselage. An enclosure is formed between the aerodynamic fairing and the external skin in which a fuel bladder, configured with a reticulated polyurethane foam insert, may be disposed for added fuel capacity of the aircraft. The method includes steps of providing an aerodynamic fairing configured to balance the flow of fluid over the aircraft during flight, and securing the aerodynamic fairing atop the aircraft and adjacent the front windshield.