On average how far can you go in a single engine Cessna on one tank of fuel?

Question

On an average day with no specific conditions to hinder the trip.

Answer 1

By far, the most popular single engine Cessna is the Skyhawk, or C-172.  

According to the spec sheets posted on the Cessna aircraft company web site, the current model Skyhawk holds 56 gallons of fuel, and is capable of flying 687 nautical miles at 60% power, or 580nm at 80% power

Answer 2

Hey, yahoo stinks, 10 gallons per mile fuel burn? hahahahahaha. And you say "Duh". hahahaha. So a 172 could only travel five miles before running out of fuel. hahahaa.

Answer 3

It varies with different models.  I own and fly an older Cessna 150 straight tail.  It is STC'd to burn automobile gas or LL100 aviation gas.  It burns aprox. 5 gals /hr, at  110 mph (80% power).  The tanks hold 22.5 gals. of usuable fuel, minus 1/2 hrs. flight time of gas (2 1/2 gals) to allow for fed. regulations/safety reasons, so I got 20 gals. at  burn rate of 5 gals/hr equals 4 hours of flight time under normal wind conditions.  Personally, I would (pre-flight) plan to land and get gas at between  3 to 3 1/2 hours of flight.

Answer 4

While it varies based on which specific aircraft model you are referring to, 4+ hours is a safe answer.

The newest Cessna 4-seater is the 172SP.  Of it's 56 gal, 53 are what we call "useful" as the other 3 gal will be in the fuel system (lines, etc..) and will not be able to be burned.

While 8+ gal an hour is more accurate, I, as well as many others just use 10 gal an hour for our numbers to add a buffer of safety... as well as not having to open the POH and do the math  ;)

So, there you have 5+ hours of fuel... however, after you subtract your reserves (approx 5lbs VFR, 8lbs IFR)  as well as any alternate fuel (IFR) and lastly, any "extra" you would want to add as a buffer (which most pilots do) then you are looking closer to the 4-hour range.

Hope the answer wasn't too long and answered your question.

Answer 5

The plane I usually fly is a 172 with long range tanks.  Under perfect conditions 900 miles might be possible.  Under some of the worst conditions (high winds) you may only go 200 miles.  Average I would say you could safely go 400 miles.

Answer 6

depends how large the tank is.... .duh.

also, depends on the state of the engine of course.  bad, broken, low maintenance engine could mean 10 gallons per mile (its burning!)

Answer 7

I think you'll find that most single engine Cessnas have two tanks. You'll have fun flying it with one tank full and the other empty.

Sample C-172 checklist from Internet: Check fuel quantity in both tanks:

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www.ginecoweb.com/Piloto%20Privado/Ces... - Similar pages

Answer 8

Firstly, which type of Cessna are you talking about? There's the 172, the 150, the 152, etc, etc, etc. Being that you didn't specify, I'll go with the 172SP since that's the plane I've been flying in the most for the past month or so. Off the top of my head, I believe that the plane itself holds 24.5 gallons of fuel, which, usually, translates into roughly four hours of flight time...not that you'd want to be in a 172 for that long...

Answer 9

It's not the fuel that's the problem - it's the bladder.

Answer 10

Mine holds 49 gals usable fuel. I average about 10 gals/hr for an average cross country flight. More fuel burned on takeoff and climb out, about 9 gals/hr in cruise, and about 5-6 gals/hr on descent. It just about always averages out to about 10 gals/hr.

My average airspeed is 120k in cruise. With a 45 min reserve at the end of a flight, that would translate to about 500 miles of range + reserve. That of course predicated upon the winds; less with headwinds, more with tail winds.