Originally posted by MarkJerling Even cheap airplanes are expensive to run.
Vintage ones still use leaded petrol which is horrendously expensive, and not very healthy. Something to do with issues over freezing point at altitude or something I think I read.
I've actually wondered about the health effects of standing behind a warbird on the ground with the motor running, as they burn through fuel at a fair rate those big V12s and they must put out a bit of inhalable lead.
I think they measure speed as airspeed rather than speed relative to the ground, as that's what matters when it comes to the amount of lift generated, which means flying into a head wind can indicate a healthy airspeed, but actually not be going anywhere very fast.