Start, Taxi, and Takeoff Fuel Modeling For The C-17

The purpose of this research is to establish and measure a C-17 Ground Fuel Model that accounts for variance in conditions and locations. Currently, the United States Air Force only uses a single mission design series specific fuel consumption number for the start, taxi, and takeoff phases. The Baseline Model does not account for fuel consumption variations during ground operations due to environmental or location-specific conditions. The research methodology used the aircraft technical orders and procedures to build a fixed fuel model for the pre-flight, start, and pre-taxi phases of ground operations. The taxi phase model utilized the Haversine Formula with data derived average fuel flows and location-specific delay times. Finally, the takeoff model used regression analysis with location-specific pressure altitudes and temperatures combined with aircraft Gross Weights to model takeoff fuel requirements. Overall fuel accuracy was increased by 32.6 percent. All models havesignificantly reduced fuel requirements from the baseline model while only incurring a small risk of under-fueling aircraft. The real-world impact of applying this new Ground Operations Fuel model can save 8,641,048.92 pounds of fuel. These fuel savings equate to savings of over $2.4 million each year at a minimum when only applied to the C-17.