C150J
Well-Known Member
Hi guys --
This is more of a theoretical question, so I'm definitely not looking for formulas or hard numbers. What is the most efficient TRAJECTORY of an aircraft on any given route absent of any mitigating factors (wind, weather, STARS, etc.). Obviously, for most aircraft, the higher you go, the less fuel is burned. Does this premise dictate that we climb to the highest altitude possible for just moments before needing to descend on a 3-4 degree descent to the destination (a curved path)?
I'm making the assumption that climb thrust doesn't affect fuel flow tremendously.
Again, purely hypothetical with the intent to furnish better understanding of fuel efficiency. A good example would be a flight we conducted last week from DCA-PVD. Company had filed us extremely low for a 300+nm leg (around FL210), so we asked for FL290. We were able to comfortably climb to that altitude (we were really light) and stay there for about 15 minutes before getting a crossing restriction. We saved 210lbs of fuel by doing this.
Forgive me if I'm missing something huge and this turns out to be a stupid question!
J.
This is more of a theoretical question, so I'm definitely not looking for formulas or hard numbers. What is the most efficient TRAJECTORY of an aircraft on any given route absent of any mitigating factors (wind, weather, STARS, etc.). Obviously, for most aircraft, the higher you go, the less fuel is burned. Does this premise dictate that we climb to the highest altitude possible for just moments before needing to descend on a 3-4 degree descent to the destination (a curved path)?
I'm making the assumption that climb thrust doesn't affect fuel flow tremendously.
Again, purely hypothetical with the intent to furnish better understanding of fuel efficiency. A good example would be a flight we conducted last week from DCA-PVD. Company had filed us extremely low for a 300+nm leg (around FL210), so we asked for FL290. We were able to comfortably climb to that altitude (we were really light) and stay there for about 15 minutes before getting a crossing restriction. We saved 210lbs of fuel by doing this.
Forgive me if I'm missing something huge and this turns out to be a stupid question!
J.