59
votes
Why do new jet engines cost billions to design?
Even if we ignore the salaries of everyone involved; engineers, sales people, management, Q/A teams, manufacturing teams, more sales people, and then a few spare engineers...
I don't understand. If ...
- 100k
45
votes
How much of an improvement would a 1% weight decrease on an airplane be to the industry?
There is an easy way to get an idea of what magnitude the savings are: The Breguet equation can answer this. You first calculate a reference aircraft and then start all over with one that weighs 1% ...
- 229k
45
votes
Why do flight schools refuse to tell me the price of a course?
Mostly because what takes one individual 50 hours, will take another 75, and someone else 100.
For that reason, most if not all flight schools will only tell you 2 things
The minimum number of hours ...
- 31.6k
35
votes
Why do new jet engines cost billions to design?
Jet engines are some of the most complex machines ever created. They have to be as light, efficient, safe, and reliable as possible. There's a reason that most new airliners recently have been ...
- 71.8k
32
votes
Accepted
How much does a typical private pilot pay for a non-training flight?
It depends on your location. It will vary based on cost for tie-down or hangar space, fuel costs, maintenance costs, etc. In order to compare apples to apples, let’s boil it down to a wet-Hobbs-rate. ...
- 16.5k
30
votes
Accepted
What does the term "tanker" mean when used in regards to a passenger airliner?
Since the 1960's and 1970's when political hijackings were a problem, airplanes started to only carry the fuel required for the flight. This means a typical fuel load will be something on the order ...
- 35.2k
24
votes
Accepted
What keeps certified GA aircraft from being affordable?
Low volume, high liability, and the overhead of certification all contribute to the high price of factory-new aircraft.
Certification
The process to design, build, and test an aircraft to receive a ...
- 68.3k
23
votes
How much of an improvement would a 1% weight decrease on an airplane be to the industry?
One % of takeoff weight is huge. On a B747 with MTOW of 300 tons, that is a weight saving of 3,000 kg, weight that needs not be lugged around for the couple of decades that the aircraft will be flying....
- 61.3k
18
votes
Accepted
How much does a Hundred Dollar Hamburger actually cost?
The flight school I fly out of rents a 152 at 86USD an hour wet. Assuming you need some cash for the burger lets say you save the remaining 14 dollars for that you are right at your 100. With the 152 ...
- 100k
15
votes
What does the term "tanker" mean when used in regards to a passenger airliner?
Tankering fuel means that an aircraft carries not only the fuel quantity required for the flight to the destination, but also the fuel, or a part of it, required for the next leg of the trip. The ...
- 70.9k
15
votes
Why do new jet engines cost billions to design?
Last I checked, most scientists and engineers do not make millionaire salaries. I think it's more around 100 to 250k tops. Even if you had 100 of them working for 10 years on it, that would be 250M, ...
12
votes
What keeps certified GA aircraft from being affordable?
Product liability destroyed this industry.
In the 1970s GA aircraft were much less expensive. A midrange model cost about twice the annual salary of the average US worker. Annual production was about ...
- 19k
12
votes
Why do new jet engines cost billions to design?
The answers are all very good in that they detail potential costs, but let me give a different angle for looking at these types of questions. In a highly competitive environment, companies will throw ...
- 221
11
votes
Accepted
How can the Cirrus Vision jet be cheaper than its competition?
I read an article on the SF-50 recently published in AOPA Pilot and, to be honest the Cirrus Jet is not even in the same league as the other aircraft mentioned. People think 'oh it's a jet for $2 mil ...
- 72.8k
11
votes
4 Boeing 707 for $50,000. Is that possible?
Its surely possibly and there are a few things I can think of off hand,
Missing Log Books: generally speaking if an aircraft is missing its log books you need to do quite a bit of tear down and ...
- 100k
11
votes
Accepted
Does aircraft manufacturers provide option to exchange older models?
Manufacturers will do whatever it takes to score an order, so it's not uncommon for an OEM to take old aircraft on trade with a new order, especially if they are from the same maker. The OEM I worked ...
- 126k
10
votes
Accepted
Why isn't aircraft structure inspection done by robots? Is there any known active research on the subject?
The robot, or better the software analyzing the sensor output, needs to be programmed for every eventuality. After all, wear and tear does not leave standard traces, and a human is still better in ...
- 229k
10
votes
Accepted
Is $24.01 million for 15 used A320 reasonable?
Short Answer: If the 24 Million was for just 15 airworthy A320s, then yes, its a steal because $24 Million is barely enough to buy 2 or 3 A320 engines. However, Niki Airline likely has hundreds of ...
- 8,532
10
votes
Accepted
What are the costs versus benefits of takeoff/landing on grass versus pavement in a light aircraft?
Pretty simple. Even a nicely rolled grass runway is nowhere as smooth as asphalt.
Tires on grass seem to last forever, but it wears out everything else in the gear out faster. Oleos get worked ...
- 126k
9
votes
How much does it cost extra to fly with one additional passenger?
I am basing the following calculations on the excellent answer by Peter Kämpf to this question: How much of an improvement would a 1% weight decrease on an airplane be to the industry?.
We can ...
- 54.3k
8
votes
Are “zero-bag fares” really profitable for airlines?
That's mostly a marketing ploy; people that don't have any bags are more likely to go with a airline that has a no-bag fare.
However not having any checked-in luggage means less overhead in terms of ...
- 27.4k
8
votes
Is solar power used (as auxiliary power) on commercial aircraft?
The sun's energy is a max of about 1000 W/m2 at sea level (sun directly overhead, clear day). A solar power installation may have around 15% efficiency, yielding a max of 150 W/m2. Let's just see ...
- 71.8k
8
votes
Accepted
Why do people put $1 & OVC on aircraft bills of sale?
This practice is really more of an accounting/finance question than an aviation one, but it's common enough that it's probably worth addressing here.
When reviewing an aircraft's registration ...
- 68.3k
8
votes
How much does a refueling stop for an Avro RJ85 cost in Bolivia/Colombia?
It's hard to give an exact figure as their are a number of considerations. If we assume that the re-fueling stop is at El Dorado, and the airplane was a BA146 (RJ85 is a variant) then approximate ...
- 52.9k
8
votes
Why do new jet engines cost billions to design?
Adding to other excellent answers, I'd like to focus on the nature of the research.
The work involved in developing and exploring ideas that aren't just capable of resolving via computer models, are ...
- 189
8
votes
How much does a typical private pilot pay for a non-training flight?
I can speak to this from personal experience. I fly the Piper Arrow and have rented from various FBO's on both coasts in various economic areas over the years. The average price I pay per hour is $145 ...
- 100k
8
votes
Accepted
How do rental prices that include fuel work if you refuel?
Every FBO that rents aircraft wet should have a published policy on this, possibly even in the rental agreement you signed.
In every case I’ve seen or heard of, you just submit the receipt for any ...
- 27.6k
7
votes
Accepted
Is it feasible to repair a C152 that flipped onto its back?
Yes it can be fixed by replacing the stabilizers and wings which just bolt on. Replacements are readily available in the used parts market for 152s.
Generally with metal that's been subject to a ...
- 126k
6
votes
Accepted
Which kind of aircraft have the lowest operating cost?
150 Miles is perfectly reasonable distance in most small planes and one passenger is a fairly easy load. There are a lot of options out there but arguable the cheapest would either be the Cessna 150/...
- 100k
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