3 ms·
Great point. Or motors in the rear wheels could probably get it up to 100MPH on the runway before the jets had to take over.
by jobseeker990 7y ago
Great point. Or motors in the rear wheels could probably get it up to 100MPH on the runway before the jets had to take over.
- DuskStar 7y agoI'm not sure if those fuel savings would be worth getting rid of the integrated pre-takeoff engine thrust test, though.
- blackflame 7y agoYea what is generating the power for those motors?
- imglorp 7y agoAPU, normally. A smaller turbine generator, just enough to run electrical and hydraulic things, usually, and maybe to start the main engines. I think they shut off APUs after the mains come up. They use almost nothing compared to, say, an Olympus engine on the Concorde at idle.
- blackflame 7y agoAn apu doesn't generate nearly enough power to taxi the aircraft. Since a large APU is essentially another turbine, you're back to using a turbine to propel the aircraft. If this really were a place to save money then the simplest solution would just have the tug pull it all the way to the runway. That way the aircraft doesn't need to take on additional weight for motors/apus which will sap fuel economy during flight.