News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Why hasn't commercial air travel gotten any faster since ... by mrec on Tuesday February 11, 2025 @06:59AM (#43011816)
It's still kind of surprising that the optimal design / speed for fuel efficiency has plateaued though, given how much more powerful the modelling tools are now. The FAA certification overhead presumably has something to do with this.

I was very struck recently looking at the Wikipedia pages for the KC-135 Stratotanker (first flight 1956) and its ongoing replacement the KC-46 Pegasus (first flight 2015). Just from the pictures of the two planes, I'd have no idea that one was more modern than the other.

Re:Why hasn't commercial air travel gotten any faster since ... by bell-cot on Tuesday February 11, 2025 @07:18AM (#43011957)
Modeling & optimization work just as well at slow speeds as at fast ones. They can't change the aerodynamic/hydrodynamic drag equations.