Towing to runway
Not so long ago, VS trialled a scheme whereby aircraft were towed to the runway, with engines being started at t-x (x=time needed to get going). I believe the trial was at EGKK.
Given that one stat quoted for a return for passenger carrying airships is that they could "fly to New York on the same amount of fuel a 747 needs to taxi to the runway (# of seats not quoted), is there not a clear potential for fuel saving using this technique?
Assuming the tow-truck cost £100 per hour and is used for an extra 15 mins, would this not equate to one seat's worth of PSC at EGLL?
Now I would never want to denigrate the job done by the many pilots on this forum, but until the take-off roll starts, are you not just driving a very large, very heavy and thirsty but slow bus?
So what were the reasons for it being scrapped? Did it cause complications in the take-off queue? Savings less than expected, or a safety issue?