Fuel Mileage

[jlrsn]

Not only water injection but also alcohol. Very common on fighters such as the Me-109 and FW-190. Prevented detonation and increased power. Were you flying a DC-6?

Not that many hours in the 6 but many in the PV1/PV2 WWII Bombers that had the R-2800 Engines. My Type Rating shows the Lockheed B-34 Rating for the PV1/PV2 Series. I also have time in the C54/DC4 with the Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp R-2000 Radial Engines. Those were the last large Radial Engines that I flew. My final Type Rating before retirement was in the Gulfstream IV with the Rolls Royce Tay 611-8 Twin Spool Turbofan Jet Engines that I flew Internationally. Now for real excitement I fly low and slow on my Kubota L39!
Take care,
Jim

 

[FlaDon]

.....

I have no idea why the truck builders think they have to have a tail gate that is four and a half feet off the ground

I suppose it is a style thing, big tall manley truck, but it sucks when you have to put something in there. Try throwing 80 pound bags of morter that high into the air and beyond the tailgate. By the time you get to the tenth one you will wish for a nice low half ton. It is a stupid design. Give me a 1 ton low rider any day, I won't have to raise my trailer or break my back loading it. (I don't care about the bad *** looks I just want to haul heavy stuff without breaking my back getting it up there)

Imagine my shock when my truck came in after having just sat a week before in a 2001 3500 that was at the same ride height as the 2000s. First thing the service person asked was if someone had goofed and shipped the 4X4 model. Tailgate level and door sill level are bad, but not as bad those on some other makes. 3" lower all around would be nice. As for bags of mortar/concrete/plaster, that's what forklifts are for.

 

[jcmseven]

Thanks for all the posts so far. To Reg, I disagree with you wholeheartedly. There is absolutely nothing unsafe about my towing habits. I am the most particular about maintaining my equipment and towing safety of anyone I know. I have my cargo tied down to the point that the road could be inverted and it would still not come off the trailer. These 3/4 ton trucks, with their safety features, etc, can safely tow at highway speeds, especially when pulling well within their limit ratings with good trailering equipment. To me, the more unsafe thing is to have an overloaded or poorly maintained truck or car pulling at 20-25 mph less than the rated speed holding up traffic and wobbling down the road. I am sure both of us see these people everyday. Yes, I tow most times to keep up speed of traffic flow, but I am sensible about it and do not feel your concerns have validity in this case, though you are entitled to them.

As for the mileage issue, I had my dealer take a peek at the air filter, etc., and no problems noted. He feels it is the winter fuel mix we likely have out right now. My most recent unloaded tank mileage was 17.5, which is about 1 mpg less than I usually see in warm weather, but not too far off. My 2008 F250 6.4L dropped mileage when towing, and especially in winter as well, but it started from lower and seemed to drop less. As I recall, I could get almost 17 mpg unloaded and about 11-12 towing the same size load in summer and 9-10 in winter--so about 1-2 mpg less than my current GMC under the same conditions.

As for the tires on my GMC, the are the stock 265/17 Duravis Bridgestone's on the aluminum SLT level wheels with no mods. My truck tachs about 1800 at 70 mph.

John M