when a little cessna airplane flies over what would be the typical horsepower of the engine?
July 26, 2009
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- if a fellow a billions of dollars to waste if you paid people to put aircraft engines into a race car would you give race cars a run for their money. just curious
thanks fellows I liked all the answers and put the question to vote
Typical rated horsepowers for engines on such small aircraft might be in the 150-190 range.
Aircraft are designed to run their powerplants closer to maximum output than ground vehicles, so an aircraft engine is often actually producing a substantial fraction of its rated horsepower. In other words, you normally don’t drive with your foot pressing the accelerator all the way to the floor, but it’s fairly routine to fly small piston aircraft with the throttles set at or near 100% power.
The reason for this is that there are no requirements for bursts of power in the air. If you’re cruising along at 90% of full power, you aren’t going to suddenly encounter a situation that requires twice as much power, so there’s no risk in running at high throttle settings. The situation is different for ground vehicles, as they may need a reserve of power for passing other vehicles or for other unusual situations. In the air, you don’t have tractor-trailer rigs to pass, or mountains and hills to negotiate, so you don’t need as much reserve power, and you can afford to keep the throttle setting high. The only real considerations are wear and tear on the engine, possible overheating of the engine, or a possible failure of the engine if you push it beyond the manufacturer’s documented limits.
The same is true for large jets, which often fly in cruise with engines set at high throttle settings, such as 90% of full power.
when a little cessna airplane flies over what would be the typical horsepower of the engine?
July 26, 2009
—
- if a fellow a billions of dollars to waste if you paid people to put aircraft engines into a race car would you give race cars a run for their money. just curious
thanks fellows I liked all the answers and put the question to vote
Typical rated horsepowers for engines on such small aircraft might be in the 150-190 range.
Aircraft are designed to run their powerplants closer to maximum output than ground vehicles, so an aircraft engine is often actually producing a substantial fraction of its rated horsepower. In other words, you normally don’t drive with your foot pressing the accelerator all the way to the floor, but it’s fairly routine to fly small piston aircraft with the throttles set at or near 100% power.
The reason for this is that there are no requirements for bursts of power in the air. If you’re cruising along at 90% of full power, you aren’t going to suddenly encounter a situation that requires twice as much power, so there’s no risk in running at high throttle settings. The situation is different for ground vehicles, as they may need a reserve of power for passing other vehicles or for other unusual situations. In the air, you don’t have tractor-trailer rigs to pass, or mountains and hills to negotiate, so you don’t need as much reserve power, and you can afford to keep the throttle setting high. The only real considerations are wear and tear on the engine, possible overheating of the engine, or a possible failure of the engine if you push it beyond the manufacturer’s documented limits.
The same is true for large jets, which often fly in cruise with engines set at high throttle settings, such as 90% of full power.
when a little cessna airplane flies over what would be the typical horsepower of the engine?
July 26, 2009
—
- if a fellow a billions of dollars to waste if you paid people to put aircraft engines into a race car would you give race cars a run for their money. just curious
thanks fellows I liked all the answers and put the question to vote
Typical rated horsepowers for engines on such small aircraft might be in the 150-190 range.
Aircraft are designed to run their powerplants closer to maximum output than ground vehicles, so an aircraft engine is often actually producing a substantial fraction of its rated horsepower. In other words, you normally don’t drive with your foot pressing the accelerator all the way to the floor, but it’s fairly routine to fly small piston aircraft with the throttles set at or near 100% power.
The reason for this is that there are no requirements for bursts of power in the air. If you’re cruising along at 90% of full power, you aren’t going to suddenly encounter a situation that requires twice as much power, so there’s no risk in running at high throttle settings. The situation is different for ground vehicles, as they may need a reserve of power for passing other vehicles or for other unusual situations. In the air, you don’t have tractor-trailer rigs to pass, or mountains and hills to negotiate, so you don’t need as much reserve power, and you can afford to keep the throttle setting high. The only real considerations are wear and tear on the engine, possible overheating of the engine, or a possible failure of the engine if you push it beyond the manufacturer’s documented limits.
The same is true for large jets, which often fly in cruise with engines set at high throttle settings, such as 90% of full power.
