Weight Reduction Calculation for Airplane at Altitude 13000m
What is the percentage reduction in the weight of an airplane cruising at 13000m relative to its weight at sea level?
Given data:
- Gravity at sea level (gsea) = 9.807 m/s2
- Gravity at 13000m altitude (g13000m) = 9.767 m/s2
Answer:
The percentage reduction in the weight of an airplane cruising at 13000m relative to its weight at sea level is 0.41%.
When an airplane cruises at 13000m altitude, the gravitational acceleration decreases from 9.807 m/s2 at sea level to 9.767 m/s2 at 13000m. This reduction in gravity affects the weight of the airplane.
To calculate the percentage reduction in weight, we can use the formula:
% weight decrease = (gsea - g13000m) / gsea * 100
Substitute the values:
gsea = 9.807 m/s2
g13000m = 9.767 m/s2
Calculate the percentage decrease:
% weight decrease = (9.807 - 9.767) / 9.807 * 100
% weight decrease = 0.00407 * 100
% weight decrease = 0.407 % ≈ 0.41 %
Therefore, the weight of an airplane cruising at 13000m altitude experiences a 0.41% reduction compared to its weight at sea level due to the decrease in gravitational acceleration at higher altitude.