Bailey Autry
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Michelle Kuchera
Airliners are likely our main mode of transportation to cover long distances, with a large airliner such as a Boeing 747-200 being able to transport 400 or more people over more than 7500 miles. However, climate change and rising fuel prices are some of the main concerns surrounding commercial aircraft.
My goal for this project is to plot the fuel consumption of an airliner over time and show that, while the environmental concerns are valid and large jets burn tons of fuel, they can be a very efficient mode of transporting hundreds of people across the globe. My equation for rate of fuel burn has four variables, each of which has its own equation. The goal of this project is to plot the fuel consumption of aircraft over time and show how it varies according to several factors, such as the weight of the aircraft, altitude, and current flight phase.
Below is a graph for fuel consumption in a similar type of aircraft to the one I have plotted so far. It looks different because I I have yet to account for short flights being given a lighter fuel load, which decreases rate of fuel consumption. If I have time, I plan on comparing the fuel efficiency of this engine type (high bypass turbofan) to others, such as a turboprop. I will also try to include the descent, which will use more fuel per mile than cruise flight despite decreasing altitude.
