Written with AI assistance and may contain mistakes. Verify against the official Transport Canada publications before relying on anything here.

Flying for range & endurance

Range: greatest distance flown on fuel on hand. Endurance: greatest time airborne. They need opposite techniques.

Rule	Range	Endurance
Fly at	Best lift/drag ratio airspeed, one indicated speed	Minimum power required: lowest fuel flow that holds steady level flight (TP 1102 Ex.10)
Altitude	Climb as high as possible while throttle stays fully open	Lowest practicable, consistent with safety; sea level for a reciprocating engine

Range airspeed and altitude:

Airspeed unchanged with altitude.
Airspeed rises slightly with gross weight: more lift needed at same angle of attack, so speed and power rise, more fuel per mile.
Glide: L/Dmax gives best glide range (most distance per foot of height lost) (TP 1102 Ex.8).
Best range altitude set by engine efficiency, not aerodynamics: above it the engine cannot make the power needed.

CG effect on range:

CG	Range	Reason
Aft	Improves	Less tail-down force, less elevator-trim drag; less power needed to hold range airspeed
Forward	Costs range	Opposite reason

Wind adjustment to range airspeed:

Wind	Normal flight (TP 1102 Ex.10)	Glide, slight change only (TP 1102 Ex.8)
Headwind	About 5 to 10 percent faster	Slightly higher
Downwind	About 5 to 10 percent slower	Slightly lower

Endurance technique:

Depends on power setting, not one fixed airspeed: less power in level flight, more time aloft.
No published endurance speed: reduce power in small steps, retrimming each time, to the lowest setting that still holds level flight.
Flaps up: added drag means more power for level flight.
Lean the mixture for the power set; fixed-pitch propeller RPM rises as you lean, so readjust.
AFM endurance chart: pick the altitude, move across to the power setting, then down to endurance in hours.
Fuel method: endurance = fuel on board / fuel consumption rate at the power setting.

Trap: answering one with the other's technique: range climbs high at best L/D speed, endurance goes low at minimum power.

PPL Tester