# Airplane MPG And Continuous Improvement

**URL:** <https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/airplane-mpg-and-continuous-improvement/4810>\
**Category:** The Happening World\
**Tags:** technology, airliners\
**Created:** [28 July 2024 18:07 UTC](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/airplane-mpg-and-continuous-improvement/4810 "2024-07-28T18:07:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mettelus](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@Mettelus](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/u/Mettelus)\
**Post date:** [28 July 2024 18:07 UTC](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/airplane-mpg-and-continuous-improvement/4810/1 "2024-07-28T18:07:15Z")

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[Improvements leading to improved airliner MPG/passenger mile](https://x.com/Jordan_W_Taylor/status/1817188579476390336)

This is an interesting thread on X about advances in airliner fuel economy.

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**Author:** ![Devereaux](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/user_avatar/scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/devereaux/32/285_2.png) [@Devereaux](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/u/Devereaux)\
**Post date:** [31 May 2025 14:20 UTC](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/airplane-mpg-and-continuous-improvement/4810/2 "2025-05-31T14:20:59Z")

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“Interesting” but hardly new. The military has been running hi-bypass engines on their refuelers for more than 30 years - and most of those **were** the mentioned “dinosaur” 707, initially. designed as an air refueler and later adopted to civilian airliner use. Back in the 90’s I was in an air refueling unit. We flew KC-135’s, the “original” 707’s. Only we had RR hi-bypass engines that allowed us to burn way less fuel. That translated into longer to/from mission ability and also longer loiter times to catch fighters injured and low on fuel. We could cut the number of required sorties to man a refueling track by about 40%.

There are certainly advances in composite characteristics, but the effect has been far less than the hi-bypass engines. If you want to look at an “industry” that _has been HIGHLY affected_, look no farther than the top level race care industry. A F1 car is a marvel of composites and engineering to control airflow.

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**Author:** ![CTLaw](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/user_avatar/scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/ctlaw/32/42_2.png) [@CTLaw](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/u/CTLaw)\
**Post date:** [31 May 2025 19:35 UTC](https://scanalyst.fourmilab.ch/t/airplane-mpg-and-continuous-improvement/4810/3 "2025-05-31T19:35:47Z")

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Reduced seat pitch:

> **[Why The Larger Boeing 707 Had Fewer Seats Than The 737 MAX](https://simpleflying.com/707-vs-737-max-seats/)**