Comment by dghlsakjg

10 hours ago

Yup.

On a 737 they can put about 8k pounds per wing.

Even little planes like Cessnas have wing tanks.

Wow wow!

Might see planes just a smidge differently now :)

  • In sailplanes we add up to around 200 litres of water to wing tanks in single-seat gliders (empty weight typically around 280kg) to improve the high speed performance (typically up to 270 km/h these days) and ability to fly comfortably in turbulence.

    It's surprising what you can fly formation with, even without an engine [1] :-)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0icOICQLTc

    Dumping (most of the) water before landing:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4Yv-V7eozk

    [1] this particular glider does have a small engine for takeoff, but maximum speed with the engine extended is 180 km/h and here they are flying at 280 km/h.

    • What a rabbithole this is now :D

      That glider next to the world's fastest aircraft (in 1953) dressed up for a fight, how about that.

      And they can water the grass...

      -

      So several thousand $ to get trained and certified and finally be ready to get towed and soar...

      but just a few hundred (California) to try for half an hour behind a pro in the cockpit--oh yeah!

      ...omg they let you fly the thing for another couple bucks!!!

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