[Jim Oxley]

Fascinating topic. I've always been quite confused as to why the 'combat' range of an aircraft was so much lower than it's cruise range. The above explains the factor's that affect it well.

But a question.

Given that combat range of carrier aircraft is roughly a quarter of cruise range, would the same apply to land-based aircraft? I would have thought that land-based aircraft would have slightly longer legs, given that the take-off and landing procedures (for them) are much faster than for carrier aircraft.