DrDetroit Posted 22 hours ago Posted 22 hours ago (edited) Hi guys, So in reality, is it appropriate to stay full mil power when in cruise mode to from waypoints? I use to tend to stay in full mil power most of my flight, if no issue with fuel consumption, TOT, and such. However, seems that in reality that may cause early wear on the engine? I kind of knocked that back to 95ish percent as of late. What's the general rule for full mil power use? Also, on the Afghan map, I get QFE callouts from tower of around 84.xx at Kabul. Thing is, mine is set at around 96.xx-97.xx by default, and I can't dial it back below around 95.xx. So I just set it at 5K at runway level. What do you guys set your QFE when this happens? Anyhow, just curious, and thanks in advance! Good day! DrDetroit Edited 22 hours ago by DrDetroit
NytHawk Posted 22 hours ago Posted 22 hours ago 25 minutes ago, DrDetroit said: So in reality, is it appropriate to stay full mil power when in cruise mode to from waypoints? Usually its advisable to fly a bit slower, you will save quite a lot of fuel. You can use the RNG mode in the CRUS DED page to show the most efficient cruising speed for the given altitude on the HUD. 1
Tholozor Posted 21 hours ago Posted 21 hours ago (edited) 1 hour ago, DrDetroit said: Also, on the Afghan map, I get QFE callouts from tower of around 84.xx at Kabul. Thing is, mine is set at around 96.xx-97.xx by default, and I can't dial it back below around 95.xx. So I just set it at 5K at runway level. What do you guys set your QFE when this happens? Ignore QFE callouts from tower, use QNH. Edited 21 hours ago by Tholozor 1 REAPER 51 | Tholozor VFA-136 (c.2007): https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3305981/ Arleigh Burke Destroyer Pack (2020): https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3313752/
Exorcet Posted 21 hours ago Posted 21 hours ago 55 minutes ago, DrDetroit said: Hi guys, So in reality, is it appropriate to stay full mil power when in cruise mode to from waypoints? I use to tend to stay in full mil power most of my flight, if no issue with fuel consumption, TOT, and such. However, seems that in reality that may cause early wear on the engine? I kind of knocked that back to 95ish percent as of late. What's the general rule for full mil power use? Also, on the Afghan map, I get QFE callouts from tower of around 84.xx at Kabul. Thing is, mine is set at around 96.xx-97.xx by default, and I can't dial it back below around 95.xx. So I just set it at 5K at runway level. What do you guys set your QFE when this happens? Anyhow, just curious, and thanks in advance! Good day! DrDetroit Putting aside wear, cruising at mil power is unusual because it's not efficient. The F-16 will fly from Mach 0.7 to 0.9 during cruise depending on load and altitude. I typically climb to cruise alt at mil power (pitching to maintain 350 KCAS or Mach 0.9(AA load) / 0.82 (AG load), whichever is greater) and then dial back to cruise setting. 1 hour ago, DrDetroit said: Hi guys, So in reality, is it appropriate to stay full mil power when in cruise mode to from waypoints? I use to tend to stay in full mil power most of my flight, if no issue with fuel consumption, TOT, and such. However, seems that in reality that may cause early wear on the engine? I kind of knocked that back to 95ish percent as of late. What's the general rule for full mil power use? Also, on the Afghan map, I get QFE callouts from tower of around 84.xx at Kabul. Thing is, mine is set at around 96.xx-97.xx by default, and I can't dial it back below around 95.xx. So I just set it at 5K at runway level. What do you guys set your QFE when this happens? Anyhow, just curious, and thanks in advance! Good day! DrDetroit As far as airport operations go, use ILS and radar altimeter to determine where you are in relation to the airfield. 1 Awaiting: DCS F-15C Win 10 i5-9600KF 4.6 GHz 64 GB RAM RTX2080Ti 11GB -- Win 7 64 i5-6600K 3.6 GHz 32 GB RAM GTX970 4GB -- A-10C, F-5E, Su-27, F-15C, F-14B, F-16C missions in User Files
DrDetroit Posted 21 hours ago Author Posted 21 hours ago 10 minutes ago, Tholozor said: Ignore QFE callouts from tower, use QNH. Ah, ok. Thanks for the heads up! How to switch to QNH?
Tholozor Posted 21 hours ago Posted 21 hours ago 20 minutes ago, DrDetroit said: Ah, ok. Thanks for the heads up! How to switch to QNH? The tower system is antiquated, and has no ability to provide QNH, however, it's available in the mission briefing. 1 REAPER 51 | Tholozor VFA-136 (c.2007): https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3305981/ Arleigh Burke Destroyer Pack (2020): https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3313752/
Furiz Posted 21 hours ago Posted 21 hours ago 1 hour ago, DrDetroit said: Hi guys, So in reality, is it appropriate to stay full mil power when in cruise mode to from waypoints? I use to tend to stay in full mil power most of my flight, if no issue with fuel consumption, TOT, and such. However, seems that in reality that may cause early wear on the engine? I kind of knocked that back to 95ish percent as of late. What's the general rule for full mil power use? Hey, I learned some time ago that with same percentage on the engine RPM the fuel flow will wary depending on height/air thickness, temperature humidity etc, so I trained myself to watch fuel flow, and realised that around 5800ish pph is optimal and mach 0.65 to 0.70. I guess that's why that fuel flow indicator is positioned so high on the instrument panel, so you can glance at it easily. Must have been an important tool Mil power is, in my opinion, to be used when you are engaging targets, or in high risk zones etc, obviously you need speed to clear out if some launch happens. But when cruising on the way to area of operations I like to use fuel flow and keep it around 5800pph. 1
DrDetroit Posted 20 hours ago Author Posted 20 hours ago Thanks to everyone for very informative posts! This helps a lot.
cw4ogden Posted 19 hours ago Posted 19 hours ago @DrDetroit The pilot trying to limit potential Engine wear isn't really a factor. Fuel for sure, but the difference between 95% and 100% power, in terms of wear, would negligible. 1
MeanJim Posted 9 minutes ago Posted 9 minutes ago You can fly around at MIL power all you want, and you're not going to hurt the engine as long as you don't exceed 1100°C FTIT. When possible, cruise as high as possible. At higher altitudes the air is thinner, and even at full MIL you won't make full power anyway. This past Saturday I was RTBing over 200 miles and fuel was tight. I was at 38,000ft and at full MIL the RPM maxed out at 93%. I do similar to Exorcet, and climb at full MIL power maintaining 350KTS IAS. When I can no longer maintain 350KTS IAS, I climb at 2-3° until AOA gets to 5° and level off to gain airspeed, then start reducing power to maintain 5000-6500PPH fuel flow. Generally with a heavy A-G loadout, I'll make 20-25,000 ft and set 6000-6500PPH, and A-A I go for 30-35,000 and set 5000-5500PPH. One of the CRUS pages shows the optimum altitude for fuel efficiency. At that altitude, full MIL power will also give the optimum speed.
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