Endeavour Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 When using the high altitude engines, is there an altitude where you get the most distance out of the fuel? I know the efficieny decreases with height, but the atmosphere also thins out. Where is it best to cruise at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmo-not Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 From my experience, it\'s around 15km. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeroignite Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Any higher than 12km and performance drops drastically. You can 'hop' higher, or cruise higher if you have a ton of engine and can go way fast. My preferred cruising altitude is 10km-11km. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardgame Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 For the best efficiency, around 11-12km is what you want for the turbojets. The highest speeds I have attained were during moderate dives from 14-15km back to 11km, and while flying level at 14-15km does result in a slight increase in speed, your engine efficiency drops at least 15% and so it isn\'t worth the fuel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkman Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 flying level at 14-15km does result in a slight increase in speed, your engine efficiency drops at least 15% and so it isn\'t worth the fuel.I might be wrong but i\'m pretty sure engine efficiency relates only to thrust vs fuel consumption. Fuel consumption is only dependent on throttle setting. So for a given throttle setting, lower egine efficiency does not mean more fuel consumption, it only means less thrust. But who cares that you have less thrust (with the same fuel consumption) at greater altitude if you\'re actually going faster due to reduced air resistance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Lag Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Too-thin air will also decrease efficiency. The max height I\'ve found before the engines drop below their magic 'optimal' air flow is 12.8KM. Can\'t swear to that 100% but I got to that number by watching engine efficiency during a very long and boring circumnavigation attempt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkman Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 You can try this at home:Maximum distance covered with a given airplane design.I predict that cruising at ~15k to ~17k will get you farther than cruising at a lower altitude that gives you 100% engine efficiency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antbin Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Compete in the KSC2 Fuel Economy challenge and test your cruising altitude theories! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmo-not Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 Compete in the KSC2 Fuel Economy challenge and test your cruising altitude theories!Now you\'re going to make me create a spreadsheet for calculating the optimal cruising altitude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ham236 Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 well, since I have my engines on 100% most of the time, logically the most efficient altitude is the altitude you reach the highest speed. That, for me, is around 17000m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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