Originally Posted by
GlueBall
Airbubba says:
My experience in flying four-engine jets has always been a case of EXCESS fuel burn with an engine shutdown, and I had never heard of any crews shutting down "one or two motors at a time to save gas."
It‘s done on the C-130 for max. endurance (not range obviously) as well. Of course only in pairs - usually engine 2 & 3. Used for example in SAR missions to stay with a ship in an emergency situation until ground based rescue or helicopters arrive.