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Old 29th Jun 2011, 10:37
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Capn Bloggs
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
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You would expect minimum fuel flow to occur with minimum drag but this is in fact NOT the case! The speed for minimum thrust/fuel flow occurs at a slower speed where there is greater drag - which strikes me as unusual.

I've been doing a lot of research on the web and in these forums and although I can find the confirmation that it is indeed true...
I'd be interested in the sources that claim this.

According to Handling The Big Jets page 64 and Mechanics Of Flight page 186 (although I think I've spotted an error by Mr Kermode - there are 2 Jet Min Drag speeds on the diagram; the 160KIAS one is the correct one according to the text), Max Endurance is at Min drag ie bottom of the drag curve.

Last edited by Capn Bloggs; 29th Jun 2011 at 11:27. Reason: Remove reference to an earlier poster's error.
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