F-16 Fuel Cost At Takeoff Power

[billt460]

While this is not 100% accurate because of cost variation, it shows pretty clearly how much fuel a F-16 gulps in full afterburner. ($170.00+ by the time the main gear leaves the runway).

An F-15 would most likely be twice as much. And a F-14 perhaps even more. Perhaps someone like Astro with experience, can chime in about what the military pays for Jet-A. I can't even begin to guess how much a B1B would consume under the same conditions.

 

[Astro14]

Well, a couple of thoughts:

1. We didn’t use Jet-A.
2. JP-5 cost about 70 cents a gallon back when I was flying.
3. It’s about double that now.
4. Our rule of thumb for fuel consumption in full AB was 2000 pounds a minute.
5. 2000 pounds is right at 300 gallons.

You’re welcome to do the math…

 

[wwillson]

I can't even begin to guess how much a B1B would consume under the same conditions.

I met a guy at a conference one time and learned that he was a B1B pilot. I asked him what was the highest fuel consumption rate he ever saw. He said it was a sea level in full afterburner and the rate was 398,000 pounds/hr. That's 6,633 pounds/minute or 990 gallons/minute.

 

[Astro14]

In the F-14, our fuel flow gauges were analog, and did not include the AB fuel flow. So, fuel flow was imputed from how fast the fuel quantity was dropping.

 

[Random_Kiwi]

Well, a couple of thoughts:

1. We didn’t use Jet-A.
2. JP-5 cost about 70 cents a gallon back when I was flying.
3. It’s about double that now.
4. Our rule of thumb for fuel consumption in full AB was 2000 pounds a minute.
5. 2000 pounds is right at 300 gallons.

You’re welcome to do the math…

I remember when the RNZAF had skyhawks based in Australia. It's a big place and when doing cross country flights, sometimes couldn't get jp-5.

I can't remember the exact fuel types, but the naval aviation fuel has a higher spark point, and the side effect is it is denser - more energy.

Aviation fuel is all about weight, and pounds per hour. When the skyhawks couldn't get the normal fuel, the tanks would be physically full, but the guages which were calibrated in weight, would not indicate the normal full fuel load, and the aircraft had reduced range.

Astro would have far better knowledge than I ad be able to explain it better.

 

[Astro14]

I remember when the RNZAF had skyhawks based in Australia. It's a big place and when doing cross country flights, sometimes couldn't get jp-5.

I can't remember the exact fuel types, but the naval aviation fuel has a higher spark point, and the side effect is it is denser - more energy.

Aviation fuel is all about weight, and pounds per hour. When the skyhawks couldn't get the normal fuel, the tanks would be physically full, but the guages which were calibrated in weight, would not indicate the normal full fuel load, and the aircraft had reduced range.

Astro would have far better knowledge than I ad be able to explain it better.

I think you already explained it. A lot of fuel, including jet-A and JP four, are less dense than JP-5.

You fill the tanks up, but since the fuel weighs less, it has less chemical energy.

So, you get less range out of the airplane.

This still happens in a commercial world. We were taking a 747 from LA to Melbourne, Australia, and even though the tanks were physically full, we were short about 15,000 pounds of fuel. There was no way to add any more fuel.

The tanks were full, but because we had a relatively low density batch, the range of the aircraft was impacted.

 

[Just a civilian pilot]

Never had that problem with fuel density yet.

Only “ not enough fuel “ problem I have, rarely, experienced is having to load restrict a flight because the tanks are already full and any increase in take off weight ( passengers ) would mean higher fuel burn but we don’t have enough fuel to deal with any increased burn to deal with a full passenger flight.

Seen this, maybe, twice and very long flights.

Take off weight limited by fuel tank capacity , not structural MTOW or for take off performance reasons.

 

[y_p_w]

Never had that problem with fuel density yet.

Only “ not enough fuel “ problem I have, rarely, experienced is having to load restrict a flight because the tanks are already full and any increase in take off weight ( passengers ) would mean higher fuel burn but we don’t have enough fuel to deal with any increased burn to deal with a full passenger flight.

Seen this, maybe, twice and very long flights.

Take off weight limited by fuel tank capacity , not structural MTOW or for take off performance reasons.

Hydrocarbon energy is definitely related to weight. Diesel fuel is denser than gasoline. That being said, military aircraft are fueled with Jet-A all the time. The USAF has reportedly converted to using commercial Jet-A with additives.

https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/547593/air-force-completes-historic-fuel-conversion/

Not sure when the US Army is going to fully convert. They supposedly use JP-8 in everything that might be near a battlefield, including diesel engines (including generators), helicopters, and fixed wing aircraft.

https://www.army.mil/article/278590/army_petroleum_center_fuels_critical_army_functions

 

[Just a civilian pilot]

Hydrocarbon energy is definitely related to weight. Diesel fuel is denser than gasoline. That being said, military aircraft are fueled with Jet-A all the time. The USAF has reportedly converted to using commercial Jet-A with additives.

https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/547593/air-force-completes-historic-fuel-conversion/

Not sure when the US Army is going to fully convert. They supposedly use JP-8 in everything that might be near a battlefield, including diesel engines (including generators), helicopters, and fixed wing aircraft.

https://www.army.mil/article/278590/army_petroleum_center_fuels_critical_army_functions

I wasn’t disagreeing. I was just saying I have never had that kind of fuel problem before causing range problems.

Even if the fuel is the proper density, there have been a few times when we had to off load passengers because we didn’t have enough range even with full tanks despite being well below max take off structural limit weight and not limited by take off performance.

We had a range problem if we took all the passengers because a full flight required more fuel but the tanks were already full.

 

[billt460]

About how much can jet fuel vary in weight per gallon?

 

[y_p_w]

About how much can jet fuel vary in weight per gallon?

There's quite a range just for Jet-A.

https://www.exxonmobil.com/en-bd/commercial-fuel/pds/gl-xx-jetfuel-series

	Jet A	Jet A-1
Acidity, mg KOH/g	0.10 Max.	0.10 Max. (0.015 Max for Def. Stan 91-091)
Aromatics, Vol. %	25 Max.	25.0 Max.
Sulphur, mercaptan, Wt. %	0.003 Max.	0.0030 Max.
Sulphur, total, Wt. %	0.30 Max.	0.30 Max.
10% Distillation, ºC	205 Max.	205.0 Max.
Final Boiling Point, ºC	300 Max.	300.0 Max.
Distillation Residue, %	1.5 Max.	1.5 Max.
Distillation Loss, %	1.5 Max.	1.5 Max.
Flash Point, ºC	38 Min.	38.0 Min.
Density @ 15ºC, kg/m3	775 to 840	775.0 to 840.0

This one has density in kg/L for JP-5 and JP-8. About the same range for both.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK231234/

 

[Just a civilian pilot]

https://simpleflying.com/how-temperature-affects-the-fuel-uplift-for-airliners/

 

[Astro14]

On the 747-400, the stated fuel capacity was 387,700 pounds.

On that flight, we could only get 355,000 in the tanks - leaving us tight for reserve margin going to Melbourne.

We physically couldn’t fit more fuel, but we would have liked a bit more. We were legal. It was safe.

But one little perturbation in fuel burn and we would have had to land in Nadi, Fiji, for fuel en route.

So, yeah, density matters.

 

[Exhaustgases]

Well, a couple of thoughts:

1. We didn’t use Jet-A.
2. JP-5 cost about 70 cents a gallon back when I was flying.
3. It’s about double that now.
4. Our rule of thumb for fuel consumption in full AB was 2000 pounds a minute.
5. 2000 pounds is right at 300 gallons.

You’re welcome to do the math…

Where can I get some $1.40 a gallon jet fuel? Local airport?

 

[billt460]

Where can I get some $1.40 a gallon jet fuel? Local airport?

"As of March 16, 2025, the average cost of jet fuel (Jet A), per gallon is around $6.20."

https://www.google.com/search?q=wha...512i546l3.14261j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

[Astro14]

Where can I get some $1.40 a gallon jet fuel? Local airport?

If you buy it 10 billion gallons at a time, like the DOD, you might get a good price on it.

Google tells me that the DOD price on JP-5 is about $3.50/gallon. It’s gone up more than I thought. I am not sure that’s accurate.

I don’t know why DOD would be paying nearly $3.50 when United Airlines paid closer to $2.40 - so, perhaps that Google search isn’t accurate.

Of course, United buys billions of gallons a year, too.

https://www.bts.gov/newsroom/us-air...07-november-2024-aviation-fuel-consumption-27

What FBOs charge is another matter - they’re selling it by the gallon, not the billions of gallons, and they have to cover the overhead on facilities through those sales. No airline, and no government agency, is paying anywhere near $6.00/gallon.

 

[Just a civilian pilot]

https://simpleflying.com/what-is-fuel-hedging-and-why-do-airlines-do-it/

 

[97prizm]

If you buy it 10 billion gallons at a time, like the DOD, you might get a good price on it.

Google tells me that the DOD price on JP-5 is about $3.50/gallon. It’s gone up more than I thought. I am not sure that’s accurate.

I don’t know why DOD would be paying nearly $3.50 when United Airlines paid closer to $2.40 - so, perhaps that Google search isn’t accurate.

Of course, United buys billions of gallons a year, too.

https://www.bts.gov/newsroom/us-air...07-november-2024-aviation-fuel-consumption-27

What FBOs charge is another matter - they’re selling it by the gallon, not the billions of gallons, and they have to cover the overhead on facilities through those sales. No airline, and no government agency, is paying anywhere near $6.00/gallon.

Not too long ago spot price on Jet A was $8/ gallon. Yeah some airlines hedge but I wonder how many end up with full price? Kind of like the grocery stores discount card, they're free and if you input your phone number you get the deal.

 

[Just a civilian pilot]

Any airline paying full price has an over paid CEO and won’t be making any money unless they only offer the most expensive airfares to offset their poor fuel purchasing decisions.

 

[Albin]

How much fuel you have in the tanks matters:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider