Catching a plane requires 140 MJ of energy – false
Question asked:
“Catching a plane would require 140 MJ of energy with a completely energy-efficient system.”
Summary
The energy required to keep an aircraft aloft is on the order of several gigajoules (thousands of megajoules), far exceeding 140 MJ. Calculations for typical cruise conditions give values around 7 GJ, and the fuel carried contains hundreds of thousands of megajoules of chemical energy. Therefore, a completely energy‑efficient system would still need far more than 140 MJ to catch (maintain) a plane.
Sources 59 searched
- Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C)
This chapter is all about managing the airplane’s altitude and airspeed using an energy-centered approach.
- Energy and Power of Flying - Large.stanford.edu.
Inserting these numbers into the above equation, we obtain 7.03 GJ for the energy at cruise conditions. [3] However, the engines mounted onto the wings of the plane are required to provide additional energy per time, power, in order to keep the aircraft flying at a constant altitude and speed.
- The Viability of Electric Aircraft - Large.stanford.edu.
Therefore, with 16,140 kg of jet fuel, the aircraft is carrying approximately 694,000 MJ of energy. In order to break-even, that is to say, to theoretically accomplish the same flight with no payload, an electric aircraft would need to store that amount of energy within 29,600 kg.
- Power and Acceleration
For constant speed v, the net force must be zero: F = fair + frolling · Power required to maintain speed v is: &nbsp P = Fv
- Chapter 7. Accelerated Performance: Takeoff and Landing – Aerodynamics and Aircraft Performance, 3rd edition
Landing is the ultimate challenge of person against nature as the pilot once again attempts to remain in control of a planned encounter with the ground in a vehicle moving at speeds which can result in instant mutilation and death if there is the slightest miscalculation of crosswind or downdraft. Of course, all of this must be done in such a manner as to assure the passenger that every move is as safe and natural and controlled as a Sunday afternoon drive to the golf course.
- 1 Power and Thrust for Cruising Flight
Power and Thrust for · Robert Stengel, Aircraft Flight Dynamics,
- Energy Example
The energy contained in fuel is ... as thermal energy when the burning fuel heats its surroundings. The energy density of aviation fuels is about 43.5 MJ/kg....
- Energy efficiency in transport - Wikipedia
A standard lightweight, moderate-speed ... counted or is optimal. Compared with walking, a 64 kg (140 lb) cyclist riding at 16 km/h (10 mph) requires about half the food energy per unit distance: 27 kcal/km, 3.1 kWh (11 MJ) per 100 km, or 43 kcal/mi....
- Is Jet Fuel Just a Hoax? What Are Planes Actually Burning? - Technology Org
Take the so‑called “great jet fuel hoax.” Its proponents claim airplanes barely use fuel, if any.
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