Listen to pilots discussing jet operations and you inevitably will hear them mentioning specific fuel consumption (SFC) and specific range. Simply stated, the SFC of a turbofan engine is the amount of fuel (in pounds) required to produce a pound of thrust at a given thrust setting under a given set of conditions. It is a measure of engine efficiency. (The SFC of a reciprocating engine is pounds of fuel per brake horsepower being developed.) Specific range, however, should be of great interest to pilots. It expresses how many air miles an airplane can fly while burning a pound of fuel. It also can be expressed in nautical air miles per 100 pounds of fuel. Specific range is a measure of the efficiency of the airplane.
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