"Shemp McGurk" wrote in message
om...
The government routinely publishes a list of miles-per-gallon
consumption ratings for all cars sold in the U.S.

Does anyone know whether such a list exists for aviation?


It does not exist. The usual method of predicting fuel mileage in an
airplane is to take the gallons per hour, which is relatively constant at a
particular altitude and power setting, and then find out how long it will
take to reach the destination, taking into account wind, payload, and other
factors.

Some small single piston engine planes can easily exceed thirty miles per
gallon, while others are doing well to get a third of that.

Most of the manufacturers post performance specs on their web sites for
various models of aircraft. Boeing, Airbus, Raytheon (Beech), Bombardier,
Cessna, Cirrus, Piper, Lancair, Mooney, Diamond and many other manufacturers
all maintain good web sites that will tell you how their airplanes perform.

Most pilots would look at a government listing of miles per gallon with some
suspicion anyway. Pilots like their fuel consumption figures to be a little
more accurate than the list that is published for automobiles. After all, we
can't just pull over to the side of the road if we run out of gas.