Forum: Air Power

There's a finite amount of space inside the ship, and not all of that can be full of aircraft fuel, so how long can the planes keep flying before it runs out? And once a tanker ship arrives to replenish it, how long does that take, and can the planes still fly during that time?

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The carrier may get low on jet fuel but it never runs out. I'm sure there are planners that crunch numbers and determine when and where a refuel is needed, either via an UNREP or at a Port of Call.

And with the exception of heli-borne resupply, there are no flight ops during an UNREP AFAIK. Safety factors and such.

No such problem for STOVL ops on flat decks of old in the UK however. Cannot say about USMC flat decks.

Googling around, I get 3.5 million gallons on a Nimitz, about a million kg, or over 100 F-35C loads.

Forum: Air Power

Aircraft carrier flight sustainability