Range of a Cessna C172?
Doug Lawlor
Cessna C172 on a tank of fuel?
Thanks in advance,
Doug
William LeFebvre
Doug Lawlor <dla...@specialty.com> wrote:
>Hello everyone, What is the aprox range in notical miles of a
>Cessna C172 on a tank of fuel?
Lesee....without my POH handy (say---when are we going to see
POH's on the net?) my memory tells me that a *STANDARD* C172
model N or P has enough fuel for about 4:30. At 105 knots, that's
about 470 nautical miles.
But remember: ground distance will be affected by winds aloft, not all
172's have the same size tanks, not all 172's cruise at the same
speed, etc., etc. Always consult the POH appropriate to your plane.
"Your mileage may vary, lower in California". :-)
Hope that helps.
William LeFebvre
lefe...@dis.anl.gov
Paul Barnett
>Hello everyone, What is the aprox range in notical miles of a
>Cessna C172 on a tank of fuel?
(1) Which C172? (there were many models, with various engines)
(2) What size tanks? On the 1980 model, there were standard (40 gal
usable) and long range (50 gal usable).
(3) With or without IFR reserves?
(4) What power setting? Economy cruise, max cruise, or some place in
between?
(5) What (density) altitude?
Each of the above factors can cause a significant variation in the
range. You will need to be more specific.
For planning purposes on a cross-country flight, I always used 8 gallons
per hour for fuel consumption, and 100 nautical miles per hour for
speed. Usually, my fuel burn was a little less, and my ground speed was
a little higher, but the resulting conservative estimate never got me
into trouble.
Ed Falk
William LeFebvre <lefe...@dis.anl.gov> wrote:
>In article <3tcs61$s...@hobbes.compusult.nf.ca>,
>Doug Lawlor <dla...@specialty.com> wrote:
>>Cessna C172 on a tank of fuel?
>
>POH's on the net?) my memory tells me that a *STANDARD* C172
>model N or P has enough fuel for about 4:30. At 105 knots, that's
>about 470 nautical miles.
You sure about that? My old '63 172 held 38 gallons. At 7gph cruise
that's just under 5.5 hours. I used to routinely plan 4 and 4.5 hour
flights in it.
--
-ed falk, sun microsystems
fa...@sun.com
terrorist, cryptography, DES, drugs, cipher, secret, decode,
DSS, FBI, NSA, CIA, NRO, SDI, communist, proletariat.
William LeFebvre
Ed Falk <fa...@peregrine.eng.sun.com> wrote:
>In article <3tek2a$8...@atlantis.dis.anl.gov>,
>William LeFebvre <lefe...@dis.anl.gov> wrote:
>>In article <3tcs61$s...@hobbes.compusult.nf.ca>,
>>Doug Lawlor <dla...@specialty.com> wrote:
>>>Hello everyone, What is the aprox range in notical miles of a
>>>Cessna C172 on a tank of fuel?
>>
>>Lesee....without my POH handy (say---when are we going to see
>>POH's on the net?) my memory tells me that a *STANDARD* C172
>>model N or P has enough fuel for about 4:30. At 105 knots, that's
>>about 470 nautical miles.
>
>You sure about that?
No. But now that I'm home, I can actually look it up.
Wow! According to the charts, if you are content with 45% power (and
93 knots true) you can go 580 nautical miles in a 172N (1980 model,
standard 43 gallon tanks) and still have a 45 minute reserve. That's
at 6000 feet (pressure), standard temp, 2100 rpm, it sips a modest 5.4
gph. The downside of this is it will take you over 6 hours to get
there!
A more realistic scenario is 65% power, 113 knots true, which seems
to max out around 10000 feet pressure at 505 nm (plus 45 minute reserve).
Hope that helps.
And remember E. Allen "His Airworthiness" Englehardt's rule of thumb
for VFR reserves: 1 hour minimum reserve, then add 15 minutes for
every member of the family on board.
William LeFebvre
Decision and Information Sciences
Argonne National Laboratory
lefe...@dis.anl.gov
David Fase
: Hello everyone, What is the aprox range in notical miles of a
: Cessna C172 on a tank of fuel?
C'mon everybody... Doug said "notical" miles. That means the 172
he's referring to is probably a hangar queen!
Seriously Doug... They'll only go as far as your kidneys will allow them
too... Particularly if you're of the "Metallic Generation"... you know,
Silver hair, Gold Teeth, and a Lead Bottom!
Dave Fase, fa...@kendaco.telebyte.com
Ron Natalie
: Hello everyone, What is the aprox range in notical miles of a
: Cessna C172 on a tank of fuel?
Depends on what power setting you fly. I generally figure about 350
NM including reserves.
-Ron
Ron Natalie
: >Lesee....without my POH handy (say---when are we going to see
: >POH's on the net?) my memory tells me that a *STANDARD* C172
: >model N or P has enough fuel for about 4:30. At 105 knots, that's
: >about 470 nautical miles.
: You sure about that? My old '63 172 held 38 gallons. At 7gph cruise
: that's just under 5.5 hours. I used to routinely plan 4 and 4.5 hour
: flights in it.
The 172N I fly has 45 gallons. Aslo it can't get anywhere near 105 knots
on 7 gph.
-Ron.
ART STRICKLAND
of in terms of time not distance. Fuel burn calculated in time with an
extra marginal for the unexpected will keep you from flying out of fuel.
If one thinks of fuel burn in nautical miles, surely that person will
have an emergency landing due to adverse winds along the flight course.
John Freas
dla...@specialty.com (Doug Lawlor) said:
DL>Hello everyone, What is the aprox range in [nautical] miles of a
DL>Cessna C172 on a tank of fuel?
It depends a bit on the way you fly it, as well as winds, but assuming no
wind and leaned per the POH, you will burn around 7 GPH. Lets say 7.5 to
be conservative. With 42 gallons useable (from distant memory, may be
wrong), that gives you an endurance of 5.6 hours. Subtract a 45 minute
reserve, and account for a rich climb to 3,000 feet DENSITY ALTITUDE (~2
gallons for the climb to 5,000 MSL and 5.6 for the reserve) and you are
left with 34.4 gallons or 4.6 hours cruise.
At a typical 105 knots for the Chickenhawk, you can go around 480 NM with
reserve on full tanks.
Note: It's been awhile. If I got the capacity or fuel burn in the climb
wrong, please /EVERYBODY/ let me know and I will go have myself
flogged.
In any case, you can substitute numbers as required to get the answers you
need. If all else fails, consult the POH, and if necessary a CFI.
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| #### #### John Freas, ATP/CFII-ME | Ft.Lauderdale FL (KFLL)
| # # === === === === === === === === === === === ==
| ####### #### john....@svis.org | Lear 23: N83LJ
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* WR [NR] * UNREGISTERED EVALUATION COPY
Mich Ravera
Safe: about 250NM (Standard tanks, full power, no leaning, with a lot of climbing and descending between 2500 and 5500 ft, about 45 min reserve)
Normal: about 400NM (Standard tanks, after climbing to 5500, lean as recommended for 65-75% power cruise, 30 minutes reserve)
Max: about 600NM (Long range tanks, after clibing to 7500, lean for max ecconomy at 50% power, call the FBO you might need a tow)