Originally Posted by
FlightGear
From what I understand as an aircraft climbs into thinner air, drag is reduced and higher airspeed results for the same thrust settings, the trade off is having to fly near 'q corner' I guess.
Power required curve shifts up and to the right with an increase in altitude (with TAS as the horizontal axis). Takes more power required to fly the higher TAS at cruise altitude.
Fuel flow however drops with a decrease in OAT. So although the aircraft takes more power to fly the high TAS at greater height, the overall decrease in FF makes it more efficient to do so.
These were the lies I was trained to teach MIL students. Not an engineer by trade.
P. S. I like turtles.