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Comment by asteli | Hacker News Reader

Some flights may only be 15 minutes in the air, but that doesn't reflect the fuel requirements for aircraft. I believe you're required to keep something like 30-45 minutes worth of fuel beyond what you need to get to your destination.

I've noticed that people who work on electric aircraft express some annoyance with this.

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That's right. It's 30 minutes for VFR, 45 for IFR. Minimum. Nearly all commercial flights are IFR.

Thanks for pointing that out, you two. Still, it's probably doable to increase the battery capacity a bit to get cruising time (vs high powered climbing time).

Not there yet, but probably within spitting distance of a few of the use cases on the edges.

Unfortunately, no. For IFR you have to be able to fly an approach at the primary airport, then fly to the alternate airport, do an approach there, and then fly an additional 45 minutes. After each approach you have to be able to fly the missed approach procedure, which necessarily involves climbing. Just being able to cruise for 45 minutes is not enough.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/91.167

> I believe you're required to keep something like 30-45 minutes worth of fuel beyond what you need to get to your destination.

> I've noticed that people who work on electric aircraft express some annoyance with this.

As someone who was just on a plane who was recently on a plane that was diverted to another airport due to dangerously bad weather, I'm glad those requirements are there. There's all kind of things that can go wrong that could delay a landing for a half hour or more.

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