NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Flight 370
From: Bruce J. Pennino
Date: 2014 Mar 23, 22:17 -0400
From: Bruce J. Pennino
Date: 2014 Mar 23, 22:17 -0400
To my way of thinking, finding the impact area is actually even more difficult when some additional considerations are added (beyond those mentioned on the news). If someone is trying to hide the final impact area,don't fly at a constant efficient speed, or in a straight line( especially toward the very end of the flight). Considering tail wind speed and direction, and change of drag characteristics at various flaps and altitude, fuel consumption could vary widely. The search area could be even wider. What is an enormous area becomes even larger. The searchers need some good news very soon.
Bruce
On Sun, Mar 23, 2014 at 9:41 PM, Gary LaPook wrote:
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But it is not clear, since this is a planning document for airports to use, whether this is with all fuel in the plane consumed or with the fuel needed for required reserves not considered. In the U.S. a 45 minute reserve, in addition to fuel to reach an alternate, is required. It makes sense that these graphs used less fuel than all on board since you would not plan a flight to a destination that resulted with zero fuel left on board. Using the minimum of a 45 minute reserve means that flight 370 could have flown an additional 363 NM at a .84 mach cruise speed.
For oceanic operations, U.S. regulations require a even larger reserve.
"§121.645 Fuel supply: Turbine-engine powered airplanes, other than turbo propeller: Flag and supplemental operations...
(b) For any certificate holder conducting flag or supplemental operations outside the 48 contiguous United States and the District of Columbia, unless authorized by the Administrator in the operations specifications, no person may release for flight or takeoff a turbine-engine powered airplane (other than a turbo-propeller powered airplane) unless, considering wind and other weather conditions expected, it has enough fuel—
(1) To fly to and land at the airport to which it is released;
(2) After that, to fly for a period of 10 percent of the total time required to fly from the airport of departure to, and land at, the airport to which it was released;
(3) After that, to fly to and land at the most distant alternate airport specified in the flight release, if an alternate is required; and
(4) After that, to fly for 30 minutes at holding speed at 1,500 feet above the alternate airport (or the destination airport if no alternate is required) under standard temperature conditions. "
I don't believe that other countries or the ICAO regulations are less stringent.
gl
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From: Gary LaPook <garylapook---.net>
To: garylapook---.net
Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2014 4:51 PM
Subject: [NavList] Flight 370
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According to Bloomberg, the plane weighed 447,000 pounds and carried 108,000 pounds of fuel at takeoff.
"The Boeing 777 was carrying 49.1 metric tons (54.1 tons) of fuel when it departed Kuala Lumpur, for a total takeoff weight of 223.5 tons, according to Subang Jaya-based Malaysian Air."
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-19/malaysian-air-search-zone-shrunk-on-analysis-using-fuel-data.html
If the Bloomberg information is correct, the takeoff weight of the plane was 447,000 pounds (223.5 tons US tons) and carried 108,200 pounds of fuel. Subtract the fuel weight from the takeoff weight and you find that the operating empty weight was 338,800 pounds (call it 339,000). Looking at the cruise range planning chart produces a range of 3,450 NM (3,970 SM.) See attached chart.
(img/127352.pages from 7772sec3.jpg: Open and save)
(img/127352.pages from 7772sec3.pdf: Open and saveor View online)
: http://fer3.com/arc/m2.aspx?i=127354
