Originally Posted by Exhaustgases
Originally Posted by Astro14
Originally Posted by Exhaustgases
And why piston airline size planes not allowed, they are orders of magnitude less cost to maintain and operate there is a reason places like Everts still uses them . It seems the goal is to make the costs go as high as possible when it comes to Govrnmt. Remember the toilet seat deal in the past.
If what you said was even remotely true, then all of the major airlines would be flying piston planes. Cost is their primary concern.
This day and age they would not fly them. Its not because of cost but, passengers would refuse to fly on them because of preconceived ideas about them. Though if fuel was in very short supply, they could come back in the form of diesel type engines.
I guess you never saw how much fuel a jet engine burns in a very short span. Flying could end up reverting back to what it was in the old days, that is only a luxury that the very wealthy could afford. The way the future looks is that planes will end up being build much smaller than they are now. Especially if they wish to electrify them. I think the jet or turbine engine is going to someday be eliminated, they are too fuel hungry.
In my 35 years of flying everything from piston singles, to the 747, along with the F-14 and F/A-18, I HAVE seen how much each type uses.
In all flight regimes.
It's a cost/mile thing for airlines. Fuel is one aspect. Maintenance matters. 56 sparkplugs on each engine, for example, four engines, the poor reliability, and the downtime for maintenance killed the recip airliner a long time ago.
"Fuel hungry" is both specious and simplistic.
Modern jet engines, and modern jet airliners, are incredibly fuel efficient where it matters: cruise flight.
The 787 burns about 6,000 lbs per hour (about 900 gallons) total in cruise. At 0.85 Mach.
The DC-6 burned about the same amount of aviation gasoline per hour.
But it was going half the speed.
Carrying 1/3 the passengers.
With 1/4 of the range.
Flying down in the weather and turbulence.
Burning fuel that's three times as expensive as jet fuel, which is basically kerosene.
So, nine or ten times more expensive per mile (fuel/seat/mile) on fuel alone, with much higher maintenance, while going half the speed, with limited range, fuel stops to get across the US, incapable of crossing the Atlantic or Pacific without stopping.
But at least it was noisy and slow....