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:

To significantly improve fuel efficiency and extend range, aircraft operators should prioritize slowing their cruise speeds towards Vy, which can yield substantial MPG improvements and enable longer non-stop flights.
Optimizing cruise altitude can also lead to fuel savings, especially for faster aircraft on longer flights, by reducing parasitic drag at higher true airspeeds; however, the fuel burned during the climb must be offset by cruise efficiencies.
While flying slow and high generally saves fuel, operators must calculate their total variable costs (including fuel, maintenance, and hourly fees) to determine the most economical flight profile for specific trips, as sometimes flying faster can be more cost-effective.

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