About how far would a single engine Cessna fly?

Question

Just give me a broad answer, I have no idea how far it would get on full tank, good weather and the such.

Answer 1

The exact range depends on the aircraft model, cruising altitude, power setting, payload, winds, etc., but for an aircraft of this type range is typically between 400 and 800 statute miles with a full load of fuel.

Answer 2

It can fly untill it hits the ground.

Answer 3

I Don't know about this gibberish all these other people were trying to throw at you, but the Cessna Aircraft Company says its 172 SP aircraft has a cruise range of 638 Nautical Miles when flying at 45% power. At 75% power (More power makes more speed but uses more fuel) the range is 518 Nautical Miles.

Answer 4

I'm not touching this one!  You can go a ways, but aircraft endurance calculations are based on a specific aircraft, under specific conditions.  I'm not going to throw out a number and see some student pilot put one down in a swamp.  There's a lot of different type single engine Cessnas too, with a wide range of max endurance limits.

Answer 5

I'd say 414 nautical miles (477 miles, 768 kilometers).

Answer 6

It's not really possible to give a meaningful general answer.  Trimmed out and leaned out for economy cruise at altitude the fuel burn rate can be less than 4.5 gallons per hour.  At performance cruise it can be as high as 7 gallons per hour or even a bit higher.  Your airspeed will vary between about 90 kias and 105 kias between those settings.

You have about 24 gallons useable so you have between 3.4 and 5.3 hours of endurance depending upon your cruise settings.

Your ground speed (and therefore your ultimate range) will vary depending upon winds aloft and that is a CRITICAL component of your maximum operating range.  At least in theory your range could fall anywhere between 50 or 500 NM depending upon winds, though I'd not be flying at either of those extremes!

Every flight presents its own unique set of performance characteristics which is why proper pre-flight planning is CRITICAL to safe aircraft operation.  Somewhere between 200 and 300 SM is probably a reasonable but VERY general estimate but each flight will be different depending upon winds, weather, altitude, payload, throttle and carb settings, etc.