General aviation fuel conservation in the 1980's

General aviation aircraft manufacturers are helping pilots save fuel by issuing rules of good practice and by revising the formats for performance data to highlight the tradeoffs between fuel economy and speed. Meanwhile drag clean-up programs improved the flight efficiencies of several models. Now flight planning innovations (some exploiting the latest computer technology) help pilots more easily determine the optimum altitudes and power settings for various winds and trip lengths. Additional flight testing will more clearly identify optimum climb and descent schedules. And, for airplanes of the future, new design criteria will place more emphasis on fuel economy than on top speed or STOL-like performance. This paper urges general aviation flight test engineers to maintain a leadership role in aviation fuel conservation.