Posted in: Aircraft
jlo asked:
The Red Bull Air Race is this weekend in Detroit and they are flying outside doing ‘test runs’ right now. Every time I hear them fly by, all I can think is “what an incredible waste of fuel!” I have tried internet searches and cannot find anything about the environmental impact of these air races and the amount of fuel used in them. A dirty little secret well kept, I am sure. Anyone educated on these planes and the amount of fuel used?
I am not debating whether or not these races should be held. That is a pointless argument. I simply was looking to tie a fact to my wondering. If I am sitting here ‘thinking’ it is wasting fuel….I thought I should educate myself on exactly how much fuel they are using before I run my mouth. I saw one website that listed about 33 gallons per minute. Does that sound right?
P.S. Keep in mind that Detroit and its suburbs are very hard hit by the economy right now. $4 per gallon is a struggle for some people. So this just seems like shoving it in those people’s faces.
Wow, notice how everyone is so quick to throw stones but nobody could answer the actual question at hand. Typical.
The Red Bull Air Race is this weekend in Detroit and they are flying outside doing ‘test runs’ right now. Every time I hear them fly by, all I can think is “what an incredible waste of fuel!” I have tried internet searches and cannot find anything about the environmental impact of these air races and the amount of fuel used in them. A dirty little secret well kept, I am sure. Anyone educated on these planes and the amount of fuel used?
I am not debating whether or not these races should be held. That is a pointless argument. I simply was looking to tie a fact to my wondering. If I am sitting here ‘thinking’ it is wasting fuel….I thought I should educate myself on exactly how much fuel they are using before I run my mouth. I saw one website that listed about 33 gallons per minute. Does that sound right?
P.S. Keep in mind that Detroit and its suburbs are very hard hit by the economy right now. $4 per gallon is a struggle for some people. So this just seems like shoving it in those people’s faces.
Wow, notice how everyone is so quick to throw stones but nobody could answer the actual question at hand. Typical.
November 13th 2009
I’m sure they use a lot of fuel, because they have very high performance engines. However, the fuel consumed by this very small group of machines is probably a very minuscule amount in the big picture of fuel consumption. There was a similar complaint about Nascar racing too. Even that is a minuscule amount of fuel used, when viewing the big picture. That analogy was put this way. If all the energy used in this country in one day could be condensed into one 55 gallon drum, the fuel used for racing events would amount to about half a teaspoon. I’m sure that the air races use even less than that.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised that these high performance engines may not use much petrolium product at all. It may be an alcohol based fuel. Maybe someone else can elaborate more on this.
November 15th 2009
Using that attitude we should ban NASCAR and the Indy 500 too right?
An educated guess would be around 15 to 25 gallons per hour per airplane.
November 17th 2009
A “dirty little secret”? Please.
As for you thinking “what an incredible waste of fuel”, the issue is not how much fuel is used but whether or not it’s a waste. To hold a football game, how much “electricity” is wasted on lighting, audio and video equipment, and so on.
That you don’t enjoy something doesn’t make it a waste.
November 20th 2009
When you no longer drive a car, feel free to complain about others use of fuel. Or do you never drive anywhere just because you want to. Our problems are always somebody else’s fault huh?
November 23rd 2009
there is no “global warming impact”… global warming does not exist.. email me for facts.
November 23rd 2009
That is a verrryyy interesting question…..
Well a two seater Cessna 152 burns about 6 gallons per hour. In the air races they are flying low winged aircraft with very powerful engines, so like someone said above, probably somewhere around 15-20 gallons per hour.
I think 33 gallons/minute seems way too much. If that were the case the tanks would have to be gigantic!
Good luck getting the answer! And do keep us informed on how the races go….
- Mike
P.S. Someone said above that global warming is not real…..It is.
Yes I fly planes, yes I drive cars, and I admit that I am contributing to global warming, but at least I am not so ignorant as to deny its obvious existence.