# Trolley weight savings “question”

This post asks a very clear question in the title, and then proceeds to perform the rough arithmetic to estimate an answer. The math itself seems fine, and the question seems perfectly appropriate, but I fail to see how they didn't just answer their own question.

What could an answer state that the original question doesn't already state?

• I think the answers to that question answer your question. – Daniele Procida Jun 9 '19 at 11:35

## 2 Answers

As I am the poster of the question, I think I should mention some things that otherwise I believe are obvious.

1. The math might sound trivial and correct but it's easy to get them wrong. In my questions I've made 3 mistakes. One that I've included the engines which is really unnecessary, second that I've made my calculations having the wrong engine type in mind and finally and more gravely, I forgot to multiply by 100 so the 0,012% became 0,00012%. Actually I am ashamed for that last part.

2. What I want to hear and I hope I am not the only one, is real world stories. "War stories". Not theories. Someone might say

"hey listen, the wind is so unpredictable, that the 0,05% is nothing, it can be the trolley removal or that you had way too many tail winds. You can't know"

That's just an example.

If there is someone that has an insight, why not have a real world answer after all?

• Did the someone who told the iPad story count? :P – ymb1 Jun 7 '19 at 15:42
• @ymb1 all the "someones" count! But as you can see, I'm not the one who's hard to please! :D – Stelios Adamantidis Jun 7 '19 at 19:20

Answers can (and do) clarify if the original asker's assumptions are correct. I see no inherent problem with this.

As an aside, you should see a close link below the question where you can register your vote for this question to be put on hold. At the time of writing 3 have already done so for a selection of reasons you may agree with.

• Would the question be better phrased as "How does removing the trolley..."? What bothers me about the current framing is that it boils down to a yes or no question. However what most people seem to want (based on the votes) is a discussion on how a small weight reduction actually effects the aircraft, not whether or not the phenomenon is really happening. tl;dr everyone agrees that reducing weight will save fuel, so the question should be tweaked. – zymhan Jun 7 '19 at 12:18
• @zymhan Perhaps. You also have the ability to suggest an improvement to the title/body of this question and are free to do so. – Jamiec Jun 7 '19 at 12:20