@Ethan don't get hung up on those small differences in cruise speed. Real cruise speed is affected by cost factor, dispatchers and the wind. Wintertime jet streaks can have embedded 200+kt winds and that'll do more than a by-the-numbers 8 mph advantage
also if you see mph, you are looking at marketting material
get an aircraft manual with performance charts for a better idea of how cruise speed can vary.
I cruised at Mach 0.80 at FL370 typically. I've seen my groundspeed vary from less than 300 kts to more than 600 kts.
though our fastest groundspeeds were generally ground FL290 before Mmo startled really limiting our indicated airspeed
@casey -- on the note of speed, I wonder if the historic DC-8 supersonic dive could be replicated in a modern-ish aircraft? (FBW Airbii would refuse, but I suspect most other modern airliners could replicate the feat)
@casey it has happened a couple times where an airliner travels in the jet stream. It caused these couple of airliners to travel at around 745mph and get to their location pretty early and also it is efficient.
Sorry, this is going to be another meta question about these two:
Pilot passed out in a small GA plane. What can a passenger do?
Can a passenger realistically replace suddenly incapacitated pilots?
(Full disclosure: I am bias, I currently have the accepted answer on the former)
The way I see...
@Ethan it happens every day that airplanes fly in the jetstream, not just "a couple times"
wind is an important part of flight planning, even if you cannot take advantage of it due to direction of flight, you still need to compensate for its effects (slower groundspeed, higher fuel requirements)
the oceanic crossings (e.g. NAT tracks) are different every day and one of the factors that determines their positioning on any given day is the wind and the overall weather
Ugh. Instrument flying destroys my fine flying control.
I'm on my 16th simulated instrument hour, and I still can't land at the end of an approach. I'm consistently ballooning in the flare, adding power, then stalling six inches off the ground for a good thump.
Of course, after a half-hour debrief and a 20 minute visual flight, I then flew a beautiful pattern and greased it on - one of my better landings.
I always figured that I'd do well when I broke out, but apparently the heads down -> heads up transition messes with my brain more than the other way.
@NathanG Sounds like my last round of night landings. <THUD> . . . <THUD> . . . <THUD> . . . "OK I'm current and I'm not abusing myself, the airplane, or the poor guy in the tower who just wants to take a damn nap any further tonight!"
@NathanG If you have PAPIs at your home field transitioning using those seems to help me until my brain goes back into visual mode.
I don't think my navlog answer is my longest one to date but it may well have taken the most brainpower to actually break down into text :-3
@voretaq7 Yeah, that could be. Both of the runways we used today have a PAPI, and I had 4 whites when I went visual both times. It's certainly true what they say - a good landing starts with a good approach.
@DanHulme I prefer a steeper approach in the Cherokee too - usually 3 whites.
but it's something to get you back into a visual frame of reference: You probably know what everything should look like on a "standard" glide path & you can orient yourself from there.
@Ethan There are a lot of websites devoted to giving you the price of Aviation fuel (avgas), a quick google search should get you your answer for your local area.
Sorry, this is going to be another meta question about these two:
Pilot passed out in a small GA plane. What can a passenger do?
Can a passenger realistically replace suddenly incapacitated pilots?
(Full disclosure: I am bias, I currently have the accepted answer on the former)
The way I see...
The Hangar
The Hangar