iscover
Fuel burn per hour can be influenced by a variety of factors, many of which the crew have no control over. Headwind, lower than optimum altitude cruise profiles due to ATC restrictions, delays at the flight terminus creating a slower cruise speed than desired in order to arrive in the desired time slot etc. While the pilot does not have control over these factors he can still reduce his fuel wastage extensively by careful preparation and attention to detail in all areas of the flight. This MAS DC-10-30 is a classic example of the modern fuel efficient long haul airliner which by way of comparison is burning around half the fuel per seat mile than its predecessors of the sixties.
Flying The Fuel Dollar Further
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Flying the Fuel Dollar Further
As every motorist knows, to his or her chagrin, the price of fuel is going up. Driving up to the pumps to ‘fill ‘er up’ will set one back twenty or thirty dollars at present prices. This sobering experience usually causes the motorist to drive a little less vigorously, at least for the first few kilometres after buying fuel. Consider then the plight of the world’s airlines. ‘Fill ‘er up’ for a Boeing 747 can mean up to 40,000 gallons at an average price of over one dollar per gallon. To put the total expenditure into perspective, consider that the annual fuel bill for an airline the size of Qantas is over three hundred million dollars, so a saving of even one per cent would keep the average motorist in fuel for several lifetimes.
What can be done to produce this saving? We have all read of the improvements in aircraft efficiency over the last few years. Improvements to the latest batch of large high bypass ratio engines produce fuel efficiencies in the order of ten to fifteen percent compared to the first such engines fitted to wide-bodied aircraft in the late sixties and early seventies. Changes to engine pylons and the shape of the upper deck in the Boeing 747, the revised and enlarged wing root fairing on the DC-10 and the “Frisbee” fairing below the centre engine intake on the Tristar are just a few of the many airframe improvements designed to save fuel by reducing drag. Airlines these days pay a lot more attention to the external condition of their aircraft. Even a badly fitting cargo door or a leaking cabin door seal can waste a lot of fuel.
So assume we have a modern, well-maintained fleet of aircraft. What else can be done in the interest of fuel conservation? Here we must come back to operating techniques much as our driver did in the first paragraph. There is an opportunity to make quite remarkable savings as long as the enthusiasm for these savings is tempered by common sense and as long as safety is in no way compromised.
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