Question: Is an additional 5% of the total flight fuel in addition to fuel for the reserve mission required or is the 5% fuel for the reserve mission?

Answer: the 5% reserve fuel is 5% of the Fuel burn estimated to perform the basic mission….it does not include taxi out fuel, nor taxi in fuel. It does not include the reserve alternate mission profile (200 nm alternate).

Explanation: This portion of the reserve is intended to cover non ideal conditions that might typically occur during a flight. For example, ATC might ask for a non ideal routing (to avoid bad weather, other traffic, etc.). Or headwinds might be worse than forecast. That sort of thing. It does not include the diversion/alternate portion.



Question: Is the 30 min hold at 1500 ft a loiter time?

Answer: The 30 minute hold at 1500’ is simply that. You can call it a loiter. It is also called ‘approach hold’… so it is typically in a configuration and at speeds that would be associated with approach phase of flight.

Explanation: This one is pretty straightforward…..often, aircraft must ‘wait their turn’, either for the weather conditions to improve, or for other traffic to get in ahead….so this ‘hold’ covers the contingency that one might not be able to land immediately at the alternate, or that there was some hesitation before deciding to go the alternate. It is at what would be considered to be more of a ‘pattern altitude’.



Question: Should the two 5 min approach and land times be considered as 5 minute loiters?

Answer: The 5 minute approach and land times…. Should be an estimation of the fuel burn, over the distance traveled at the appropriate speed for the airplane for that phase of the flight.

Explanation: This is simply meant to cover what an airplane would be expected to burn in fuel, and distance traveled (these phases count towards your still air range). Once leveling off at 1500’, the airplane will typically hold, and then be allowed to continue to descent and land. Continuous descents are not yet normal…so this stair stepping is more the norm. The 5 minutes is just to give you the total window for this phase. A 3 degree descent rate is common, (glide slope for instrument approaches), so following that, at whatever speed your airplane is optimized to land at (V approach) from 1500’ will take a couple minutes, ….assume the difference between whatever that number is and 5 minutes, to be the time spent at pattern altitude. I do not consider these to be ‘loiter’….an airplane in descent does not typically burn the same fuel as one maintaining a constant altitude. Also, the constant altitude portion is in the normal landing flap conditions as required of the airplane at that phase (no cleaning up for best endurance loiter …. Although final flaps may not yet be set…).



Question: Initial Cruise Altitude Capability at MTOW: > 35,000’ ISA + 15 C degrees is this altitude and temperature correct?

Answer: As per the initial cruise altitude capability question…yes that is the altitude in feet, with temperature in Celsius above standard day for that altitude.

Explanation: It is a ‘capability’ however. If an aircraft actually wants to optimize out a bit higher of lower when actually flying it’s mission profile, then that is O.K., as long as the airplane can get to 35,000’ if the pilot desires to (is not climb limited, or Buffet limited….).