Originally Posted by
ThreeThreeMike
I thought the decision to carry that much additional fuel was odd, given the fact the aircraft was being operated with three engines. The additional weight required higher V speeds and would have exacerbated controllability issues.
Not having any experience in the DC-8 (or any other four engine transport category aircraft) I am not familiar with minimum weight requirements and their effect on aircraft operation.
it just seems counterintuitive that an aircraft operating with degraded performance would be required have an additional 30,000 lbs of fuel on board.
Any comments would be appreciated.
Could it have been for balance reasons?
Have seen ballast fuel options on empty 727's and non-ideally loaded 747 combi.