How is Fuel used in an airplane?

Question

Im talking about a commercial plane like a boeing.

How much fuel does it carry and is it efficient?

Answer 1

They burn it!!!...and use it to cool anything thing that can get hot...I read somewhere that if 500 passengers climbed into 100 Ford Cortina estates and drove the 3000 odd miles to America?...they would use a lot more fuel than a 747 jumbo!...and would arrive a lot later...

Answer 2

It is used to power the engines and can be used to cool the engine oil......

Answer 3

A Boeing 707 carries around 150 000 pounds of fuel (22000 Gallons).  In cruise, it burns around 13 000 lbs an hour for a speed of roughly 540 MPH (450 knots X 1.2) which gives you

0.3 Miles per Gallon, roughly.  However, if you consider how many passengers it carries (about 180), it beats most cars carrying only one person.  0.3 MPG X 180 = 54 MPG, so, full planes are environmentally friendly planes!

Answer 4

Fuel use is the number one economic concern for the airlines these days and you can understand why.  A yahoo article recently talked about how some airlines are slowing down to save fuel making for a slightly longer flight.  

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The Concorde used it fuel to balance the aircraft.  When an airplane goes supersonic it's center of gravity moves fore and aft (front and back).  Fuel was transferred by pumps to balance the aircraft in flight.  The use of control surfaces to achieve the same thing would have caused too much drag and end up wasting fuel.  The fuel was also used to cool the airframe before it was burned.

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