single engine aircraft fuel consumption?

Question

Hi, how much distance can a single engine aircraft travel (ie based on fuel consumption) and at what speed and for how long, especially if it wants to avoid radars (travel low?) and is modified to reduce weight. This is in relation to the LTTE using an aircraft last night.
Would really appreciate your thoughts

Many thanks, was trying to figure out whats possible for a single engine light aircraft in terms of travelling 350 km one way, unloading couple of bombs, and travelling back 350 km, ie how long it would take to travel one way and whether it would be able to fly low and avoid radar, which is what happened last night in Sri Lanka with the LTTE using its first air attack and bombing an air force base in capital colombo, and avoiding radar as well as Kfir and MIG jets.

Answer 1

The equation is fuel carried divided by rate of consumption, so nobody can actually answer your question. Flying low increases fuel consumption, so most any aircraft that can carry a useful load will be burning 10 or 12 US gallons per hour.

Answer 2

Many variables here. Your average 4 place simple trainer (Cessna 172) burns about 8 gallons per hour and flies about 110 knots in normal cruise, in a no wind situation. Most carry about 40 gallons of fuel, of which 75% is usable and you need to land legally with 30 minutes of fuel during the day or 45 minutes of fuel at night.

1 knot= 1 nautical mile= 1.15 mph. You can go about 300 nautical miles before stopping for fuel again ( there are more factors, but for simplicity, I'll leave those alone)

For a more complex airplane, such as a Beechcraft Bonanza, it will cruise closer to 160 knots per hour, carry about 100 gallons of fuel, but will burn closer to 15 gallons per hour in cruise.

As for avoiding radar, it all depends on the radar installation, the terrain around the radar and low-flying aircraft and other factors.

Answer 3

You've had good answers on the fuel consumption part of your question, so let me touch on the radar avoidance part. These days, you avoid radar by flying where it is not, if there is such a place. Doppler can spot you if you're running with your wheels on the ground. Doppler senses motion, not a simple skin paint, so you'd have to find a place that had no radar installations that overlapped.

Answer 4

I examine your question a similar way some human beings on right here did at first, they have assumed which you quite want to appreciate approximately crashes led to via the gas igniting. like the valid checklist into the TWA800 crash. What your question certainly asks is why does it ignite for the period of a crash, maximum appropriate me if i'm incorrect there. that's led to, yet isn't completely led to via, the compressive forces of an impact. Jet gas in its liquid variety is definitely not actual ignited, yet once you combine it with air this is going to become incredibly flammable and ignites with explosive rigidity. The gas pouring from a rupture in the airframe would nicely be ignited via the engines, see the Concorde crash.