Originally Posted by barit1
Bear in mind too that at lower altitude with 1 or more shut down, the fuel burn PER HOUR may be lower, which is advantageous when you're killing time in a loiter. Patrol aircraft often use this to extend their loiter duration.
However, this means relatively less distance traveled, which is bad news if your job is to get from point A to point B in good time.
Indeed. Back at the efficiency. The total time that a plane stays airborne with a given amount of fuel may indeed be longer if the plane flies low and slow. But the total distance covered is probably less.
Which is not just a matter of "good time". It also is bad news if the job is to get to point B or another runway at all, any time, rather than ditch or crash off-airport after fuel exhaustion short of diversion.
How much is the range of a typical airliner diminished if it has to stay below 3000 metres or so because it cannot be pressurized?