943
this post was submitted on 11 Sep 2023
943 points (96.9% liked)
Mildly Interesting
17384 readers
107 users here now
This is for strictly mildly interesting material. If it's too interesting, it doesn't belong. If it's not interesting, it doesn't belong.
This is obviously an objective criteria, so the mods are always right. Or maybe mildly right? Ahh.. what do we know?
Just post some stuff and don't spam.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
A Rutan Long EZ running autogas has a better environmental footprint than a Prius and is more than twice as fast
https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2015/december/14/indy-car-speed-with-prius-fuel-consumption
Of course, takeoff and climb are typically at full power but to reach cruising altitudes for a single engine airplane doesn't take very long. It's a similar concept to a car on a highway onramp, except that airplanes actually get more efficient at higher altitudes.
It factors into overall consumption but it doesn't really blow the whole equation for efficiency. Pilots in training do takeoffs and landings on repeat for hours at a stretch between refueling.