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trebuchet03 · 01-08-2008, 03:50 PM

Larger aircraft are very unstable gliders (they're always under power - even while landing... just throttled back) :/ Going slower in flight could be an option.... That would change the cycle life of the engine (more hours = more service - luckily, turbines don't require too much in the way of service compared to other engines

). I wonder if there's unforeseen consequences of that though - like needing more aircraft in the air to meet cargo demands...

I found an estimation of a Boeing 777-300's parasitic drag to be .0106 (just thought I'd throw that out there - seems low, but not unreasonable).

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Here's an interesting chart (date is 2007)... I came across a fuel consumption by industry chart awhile back - and can't seem to find it again...

Another interesting point (not directly related to FE) is the cooling effect from aircraft contrails... The airline grounding due to 9/11 allowed scientists to get empirical evidence that ice clouds from aircraft actually deflect some heat off the planet....

01-08-2008, 03:50 PM	#6 (permalink)
trebuchet03 MechE Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,151 The Miata - '01 Mazda MX-5 Miata Thanks: 0 Thanked 21 Times in 18 Posts	Larger aircraft are very unstable gliders (they're always under power - even while landing... just throttled back) :/ Going slower in flight could be an option.... That would change the cycle life of the engine (more hours = more service - luckily, turbines don't require too much in the way of service compared to other engines ). I wonder if there's unforeseen consequences of that though - like needing more aircraft in the air to meet cargo demands... I found an estimation of a Boeing 777-300's parasitic drag to be .0106 (just thought I'd throw that out there - seems low, but not unreasonable). ---- Here's an interesting chart (date is 2007)... I came across a fuel consumption by industry chart awhile back - and can't seem to find it again... Another interesting point (not directly related to FE) is the cooling effect from aircraft contrails... The airline grounding due to 9/11 allowed scientists to get empirical evidence that ice clouds from aircraft actually deflect some heat off the planet.... __________________ Cars have not created a new problem. They merely made more urgent the necessity to solve existing ones.