Definition
A chart in the Pilot's Operating Handbook that shows expected fuel burn, true airspeed, and power settings during cruise flight at various combinations of pressure altitude, temperature, and engine power setting (RPM or manifold pressure). It is used to plan and verify cruise performance for a given flight.
Plain English
A chart that tells you how fast you'll go and how much fuel you'll use while cruising, based on how high you're flying, how warm the air is, and how much power you're using.
Context Anchor
Found in the performance section of an airplane handbook when planning a flight, especially for estimating time, fuel, and range.
Derivation
Cruise comes from an older word meaning to cross or travel over an area. In aviation, it points to the steady travel part of a flight after climb and before descent. Graph comes from a word meaning to write or draw, which fits because the information is shown as lines or curves instead of only as numbers.
Why Pilots Care
It lets the pilot choose the altitude and power that gives the best speed, range, or fuel economy for the trip.
Analogy
It is like a car mileage chart that changes with road conditions and speed. For an airplane, the chart changes with things like altitude, temperature, and power setting.
Intuition Check
Do not assume cruise means a casual or relaxed flight. Here, cruise means the steady travel portion of flight, and performance means the airplane’s measurable results, not how well the pilot is doing.
Example Sentence 1
Before departure, she used the cruise performance graph to confirm that 65% power at 7,500 feet would give her about 115 knots true airspeed and a fuel burn of 8.2 gallons per hour.
Example Sentence 2
Using the cruise performance graph, the pilot selected a lower power setting to extend range on the long flight.