On Apr 30, 12:50 pm, Charlie Axilbund wrote:


So, this got me thinking. Given a 172 charged out based on tach time,
what would be the most expensive way and the cheapest way to get from
point a to point b? Most expensive -- climb at Vy+5 knots, then cruise at
a TAS of 110 knots. Cheapest -- do a Vx climb to altitude (to keep the
rpms low); when at altitude, chop the power completely and start a
descent. After descending for a while, climb back to altitude at Vx.
Repeat until reaching destination (or sick, whichever comes first). Am I
crazy? Isn't this why fixed pitch equipped airplanes are usually charged
out based on Hobbes time?


Remember your training: check the POH. The setting you want
is the best range setting, which will give you the best distance for
RPM in a fixed-pitch airplane. If the airplane is really old and
doesn't have a range column in the cruise chart, you can find it by
reducing the power in cruise 100 RPM at a time, then allowing the
airspeed to stabilize and trimming for level flight. Keep track of the
airspeed decrease each time until you get a really large ASI drop,
then go back to the last setting.

Dan