TABLE OF CONTENTS TheWright Brothers'first flight at Kitty Hawk could have been performed within the 150-foot economy section of a Boeing B-747.
The Boeing Corporation
In this chapter we introduce the concepts of distance flown by a fixed-wing aircraft without stop for refueling or in-flight refueling. We will discuss a number of cruise programs at subsonic and supersonic speeds, the fuel required for a specified mission (fuel planning) and some optimal problems in long range cruise, with or without constraints. We attempt to solve such problems as: (1) the best cruise conditions from the point of view of minimum fuel consumption per unit time or distance; (2) the estimation of the fuel required for a specified mission and (3) the calculation of the best flight profile resulting in minimum fuel consumption, with or without constraints on range and time traveled.
All the models presented are based on ISA conditions. Therefore, we will use the term speed for both true air speed and ground speed. The effects of atmospheric winds on cruise performance have been published by Hale [239], [54]; they include best range conditions, flight times and fuel consumption.
[239]Hale. Effects of wind on aircraft cruise performance. J. Aircraft, 16(6):382 387, 1979.
For most commercial aircraft the fuel consumed during the cruising phase of the flight makes up the bulk of the fuel carried, and is a key factor in the productivity and direct operating costs of an aircraft. Since the...
