http://anoved.net/2008/05/fuel-economy/ Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:40:19 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 http://anoved.net/2008/05/fuel-economy/#comment-248 EEon Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:38:12 +0000 http://anoved.net/2008/05/fuel-economy/#comment-248 Here's an attempt: Spacetruck must travel a land route of about 2,776 miles, mostly on I-40. At 14 MPG, this works out to be 198.29 gallons of gasoline. Given a passenger capacity of 2 (people in the bed or atop center console don't count, since they don't have seatbelts), this is 99.15 gallons per person to travel from New York to LA. No standard adjustment factor for Spacetruck weight/MPG tradeoff is available. We'll assume that the truck is resistant to speed and weight-related MPG fluctuations (even though this is patently false). The plane has a straight line distance of 2,443.79 statute miles to cover. Since there will be some distance taken up by approach patterns, we'll round this distance up to 2,500 statute miles. We now make the assumption that the aircraft is at maximum allowable weight and .84 mach cruise speed; 31,000 gallons of fuel will allow travel of ~3,600 nautical miles (4,142 statute miles). This assumption can be checked on the fourth page of: http://www.boeing.com/commercial/airports/acaps/7772sec3.pdf Our passengers are fat, sassy, and bringing thousands of pounds worth of NYC silk pashminas home with them. 2,500 miles is 60.3% of the 777-200's 4,142 mile assumed range. 60.3% of the 777-200's 31,000 gallon fuel capacity is 18,693 gallons of Jet A. Next, we can divide the total gallons used by the jet by the gallons used by each passenger of Spacetruck: 99.1x=18,693 x=188.62 (~189) passengers Since the typical seating capacity (seatbelts) of the 777-200 is around 300, that makes the plane significantly more fuel efficient, per passenger, than the truck. Of course, on this trip the truck is probably getting closer to 19 MPG, and the plane is not likely to be maxed out for weight. Neither of these vehicles compares favorably to the MPG/weight ratios of a diesel locomotive, rowboat, or bicycle. Here’s an attempt: Spacetruck must travel a land route of about
2,776 miles, mostly on I-40. At 14 MPG, this works out to be 198.29
gallons of gasoline. Given a passenger capacity of 2 (people in the
bed or atop center console don’t count, since they don’t have
seatbelts), this is 99.15 gallons per person to travel from New
York to LA. No standard adjustment factor for Spacetruck weight/MPG
tradeoff is available. We’ll assume that the truck is resistant to
speed and weight-related MPG fluctuations (even though this is
patently false). The plane has a straight line distance of 2,443.79
statute miles to cover. Since there will be some distance taken up
by approach patterns, we’ll round this distance up to 2,500 statute
miles. We now make the assumption that the aircraft is at maximum
allowable weight and .84 mach cruise speed; 31,000 gallons of fuel
will allow travel of ~3,600 nautical miles (4,142 statute miles).
This assumption can be checked on the fourth page of:
http://www.boeing.com/commercial/airports/acaps/7772sec3.pdf Our
passengers are fat, sassy, and bringing thousands of pounds worth
of NYC silk pashminas home with them. 2,500 miles is 60.3% of the
777-200’s 4,142 mile assumed range. 60.3% of the 777-200’s 31,000
gallon fuel capacity is 18,693 gallons of Jet A. Next, we can
divide the total gallons used by the jet by the gallons used by
each passenger of Spacetruck: 99.1x=18,693 x=188.62 (~189)
passengers Since the typical seating capacity (seatbelts) of the
777-200 is around 300, that makes the plane significantly more fuel
efficient, per passenger, than the truck. Of course, on this trip
the truck is probably getting closer to 19 MPG, and the plane is
not likely to be maxed out for weight. Neither of these vehicles
compares favorably to the MPG/weight ratios of a diesel locomotive,
rowboat, or bicycle.

]]> http://anoved.net/2008/05/fuel-economy/#comment-61 Anonymous Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:42:00 +0000 http://anoved.net/2008/05/fuel-economy/#comment-61 Will use your calculations to try and compute an estimated fuel cost for each passenger butt plus 3 pieces of luggage assuming an average weight of 185 lbs/person luggage lg bag 70 lbs; 2nd bag 66lbs; 3 bag 42 lbs. AA is planning to fly from Chicago to Moscow which is approximately 13hrs 20mins. I believe they will fly this route using a 777-300. Anyway, guess I have nothing more pressing, ha! Will use your calculations to try and compute an estimated fuel cost for each passenger butt plus 3 pieces of luggage assuming an average weight of 185 lbs/person luggage lg bag 70 lbs; 2nd bag 66lbs; 3 bag 42 lbs. AA is planning to fly from Chicago to Moscow which is approximately 13hrs 20mins. I believe they will fly this route using a 777-300. Anyway, guess I have nothing more pressing, ha!

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