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Old 2nd Jun 2011, 09:49
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Oktas8
 
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And another way of explaining...

Q1: In a jet, fuel flow is proportional to thrust. In S&L flight, thrust = drag. So min drag speed is equal to minimum consumption rate of fuel, which is a good speed for endurance.

Best range speed combines minimising fuel flow but also covering the ground at a reasonable speed, with minimum kg/hr fuel and maximum nm/hr. Since on the drag curve there is one value of thrust for each speed in S&L, best range speed occurs at only one value of minimum (kg/hr divided by nm/hr). If in school you were ever taught that the gradient of a line = "rise over run", you will see why the minimum gradient line represents minimum FF/TAS, just touching the drag curve at one point.

Long answer to a short question. Hope it helps.
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