Gas Games

Fuel is the single biggest variable expense for aircraft operators. What if you could reduce your cost by 30 percent? In addition to being expensive, gas is heavy. New airplanes containing the creature comforts of a luxury car have terrible useful loads with full tanks. Maybe three normal adults can fit into a typical four-place airplane before being overweight. Add baggage, golf clubs, or fishing poles and youre leaving gas behind. Trading gas for weight can severely limit range, one of the consequences of traveling by plane.

jmiller

Tuesday, July 29, 2014 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Aircraft operators can achieve significant fuel savings and extend range by optimizing flight speed (slowing down towards Vy for better efficiency) and selecting optimal altitudes.
Reducing cruise speeds notably increases specific range (miles per gallon), with potential savings of 20-31% across different aircraft, allowing for longer non-stop travel.
Flying at higher altitudes can improve fuel economy by reducing parasitic drag, though the overall benefit depends on balancing climb costs against cruise gains and is more effective for faster or longer flights.
The most economical flight strategy requires considering not only fuel prices but also other hourly variable costs (like instructor fees), as flying faster can sometimes be more cost-effective depending on the situation.

See a mistake? Contact us.

Fuel is the single biggest variable expense for aircraft operators. What if you could reduce your cost by 30 percent? In addition to being expensive, gas is heavy. New airplanes containing the creature comforts of a luxury car have terrible useful loads with full tanks. Maybe three normal adults can fit into a typical four-place airplane before being overweight. Add baggage, golf clubs, or fishing poles and you’re leaving gas behind. Trading gas for weight can severely limit range, one of the consequences of traveling by plane.

All of these issues can be addressed with a little knowledge. As an example, we’ll take a trip from Falcon Field, GA—just south of Atlanta—to Dare County, NC to visit Kitty Hawk. We’ll fly a Cessna 172N, Beechcraft E33A Bonanza and our editor’s Cessna 340A.
Speed