4 ms·
Is it really true that when flying at less speed you burn more fuel? If air resistance grows quadratically with speed, I would assume that it is not, but there
by harperlee 8y ago
Is it really true that when flying at less speed you burn more fuel? If air resistance grows quadratically with speed, I would assume that it is not, but there might be another effects on wing efficiency that I ignore...
- danaliv 8y agoThe drag/speed curve of an airplane is actually U-shaped. Parasitic drag does increase with speed, but induced drag—the drag that results from the production of lift—is highest at slow speeds. The combination of these two curves is a U. The bottom of the drag curve is the speed at which the airplane will achieve maximum range for a given quantity of fuel; 76% of that speed will achieve maximum endurance. The distinction between range and endurance is that of distance versus time. Max range will get the most distance out of one pound of fuel, while max endurance gets you the most time out of that pound of fuel.
- privateSFacct 8y agoFlying faster uses LOTS more fuel per mile travelled. It's not just the aero but also what engines are optimized for
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- AFascistWorld 8y agoThen Concord wouldn't be dead.
- sbradford26 8y agoHere is a pretty good article explaining the optimization between range and speed. http://code7700.com/aero_range_performance.htm http://code7700.com/aero_range_performance.htm