What is the longest range unrefueled production aircraft?

Asked Jun 26 '23 at 16:34

Active Jun 26 '23 at 16:34

Viewed 150 times

I was looking at the re-engined B52 project which was supposed to extend its 8800sm unrefueled combat range/10,145sm ferry range by 40%, making it 12,320/14,203sm.

What is the longest range unrefueled production aircraft? Is this it? No ferry tanks or one off stcs allowed. Legitimate programs not yet in production are ok, meaning funded or otherwise substantiated.

asked Jun 26 '23 at 16:34

Pilothead

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My offer on the table: "In 2019, Qantas flew one of its A380s back to base in Sydney from Dresden, Germany, after refurbishment. The plane was empty and flew for over 18 hours and about 10,000 miles." (source) – sophit Jun 26 '23 at 16:51
@sophit The Airbus Aircraft Characteristics for the A380 show a ferry range of about 9600 NM (without wind), so significantly less than the ~12300 NM claimed by the B52. – Bianfable Jun 26 '23 at 17:22
Ah ok, I thought only production aircraft counted. Anyway nice to know – sophit Jun 26 '23 at 17:48
@sophit Only production counts, but it doesn't have to be currently in production. It also doesn't have to be commercial. – Pilothead Jun 26 '23 at 19:43
Do military tanker aircraft have the ability to use all the fuel onboard for their own engines? If so then I would expect such an aircraft to win the range comparision. – Peter Green Jun 26 '23 at 22:59
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Does the Space Shuttle count? – Dave Gremlin Jun 27 '23 at 10:58
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@DaveGremlin: It didn't even need fuel to absolutely obliterate the record! – Jörg W Mittag Jun 27 '23 at 12:31
@PeterGreen Tankers usually distribute their own fuel from their regular fuel tanks. See Do tanker aircraft distribute their own fuel? – Bianfable Jun 27 '23 at 18:11
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@DaveGremlin Clever thought, but I would put drop tanks in the same category as ferry tanks and the shuttle external tank is one giant drop tank. – Pilothead Jun 27 '23 at 22:35
In theory, any sailplane can beat everything above. – Juan Jimenez Jun 28 '23 at 17:46
And there’s not much point in making an aircraft with a range greater than 10,800 nautical miles, as it can reach any point on the Earth on a single flight. – Romeo_4808N Jul 04 '23 at 11:33

What is the longest range unrefueled production aircraft?

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