Question about power settings / fuel consumption
Can someone please answer the following, my plane has a 180hp (at 2700rpm at sea level in standard temps) and a fixed pitch prop, most of my flying is done below 1500ft where I cruise leaned out at either 2350rpm (65% power) or 2450rpm (75% power), however when I fly cross country at between 6500 to 7500 above msl which according tothe aircraft manufacturer is the optimum cruise altitude, the engine manufacturer says at these altitudes it will only produce at most 75% power flat out, if so does it make sense to run at full throttle at 7500 feet as it is only producing 75% power which is the cruise power setting at sea level, and if I do run at full throttle will my fuel consumption be the same as the 75% at SL or will it be the full throttle consumption. And if running at full throttle (red line) at sea level is bad for the engine, is it still bad to do it at 7500 bearing in mind its only producing 75% power at that altitude.
Hope this makes sense
Last edited by piperboy84; 24th October 2012 at 17:44.