Average Starting Salaries. According to salary surveys conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), mechanical engineering graduates with a master's degree earned an average starting salary of $66,158 in 2009 and $69,954 in 2010. This average starting salary rose to $74,300 in 2011.
A plane like a Boeing 747 uses approximately 1 gallon of fuel (about 4 liters) every second. Over the course of a 10-hour flight, it might burn 36,000 gallons (150,000 liters). According to Boeing's Web site, the 747 burns approximately 5 gallons of fuel per mile (12 liters per kilometer). This sounds like a tremendously poor miles-per-gallon rating! But consider that a 747 can carry as many as 568 people.
The pods enable the boom operator to refuel two planes at once. After the boom operator establishes contact with the aircraft's fuel tank, the computer takes over. Up to 1,100 gallons of fuel flow through the boom per minute and about 470 gallons per minute through the drogue.