The best NM range for a single engine aircraft.

Quick math here: 1040/165 ktas = 6.3 hours - add some headwinds and climbout/vectors and you are in the 6.7-7 hour range.

My Bo has 110 gals with the tip tanks and I can carry 4 regular sized adults, some stuff and full fuel. (useful load is just under 1500 lbs but I've heard it will carry much more). I plan on 20 gals the first hour then 13 for all the rest. 20 on the first hour gives me a few gallons of slop, it's probably more like 16 or so and I don't account for burning less or going faster in the descent. Full fuel, direct profile gives me 6.95 hours of flight with these numbers. That accounts for the claimed 6 gallons of unuseable (which I've found to be useable), and 7 gallons for VFR reserves.

My longest flight in the Bo was Centennial in Denver (KAPA) to New Orleans Lakefront (KNEW); 926nm. I was solo and I made it in just over 6 hours; landed with 35 gallons of fuel left. I had a slight tailwind but climbed much better with the light airplane, then had a slight (6-9 kt) tailwind the whole way.

Can you get an IO-550 powered Bo with tip tanks for less than $100k? No.

Do you really need to do this flight non-stop? If not, there are lots of airplanes that can get this done. Non stop 7 hours in any small plane is going to be a pain in the butt - literally!
 
  1. I'm sorry but the 182 is too draggy, the R182 get 1150NM range on 10.2gph and hold 92 gallons for a shocking 9 hr range so good luck beating that!
 
kgruber said:
I LOVED my Mooney 201. Unfortunately, I was uninsured and needed a very expensive operation. So, I just gave my interest to my partner rather than hanging on to payments.

But, mine only had 64 gallons or something like that.

OTOH, the operation saved my life. I had two more kids, and have owned four more airplanes since.
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Sorry about losing the Mooney, but you absolutely made the right choice.
 
Hi there, I'm new to the forum and flying. I'm also having similar questions/thoughts to the OP. I want to do cross country travel in the states with my better half and two dogs. Is this something that is fun and enjoyable? Landing at different airports/FBO's, etc? Wondering if anyone has any advice. I thought the Cessna's were too old for the cheaper ones and I came across the Cirrus SR22 that looks pretty cool. Although haven't seen nor flown the plane so not sure how it is on the comfort side of things. I'd like to be able to have long range but also realize we would probably want a break after 3-4 hours of flying anyway, so speed would be nice to be able to cover more ground during that time. Haven't set a budget yet but looking briefly at the earlier Cirrus SR 22 turbo models which seem to be around 150-250k.

Since I'll be flying with dogs, wondering what elevation I could reasonably go to and if that would be enough to travel around the states. Or do I need to consider a pressurised aircraft, but seems the maintenance costs pick up considerably with this option. I saw a Piper Malibu (but then I'd probably be looking at an older one) but it seemed a bit more complex and think a Cirrus SR22 would be enough. Although I do want comfort for my passengers, unsure if the rear seats fold down or not. Useful load looking at 220lbs for myself, with my better half and two dogs looking at approx 500lbs there in total and probably need another 200lbs for luggage, plus fuel.
 
Do you have a complex / high performance endorsement? What about a twin?
 
WDD said:
Do you have a complex / high performance endorsement? What about a twin?
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I'm new (no licenses yet), and I'm not in a hurry. Just want to give myself a new hobby and goals. Want my better half to get a license too.
 
Understand. Getting your license will also give you a better idea of what kind of plane you’d like flying
 
mandm said:
Hi there, I'm new to the forum and flying. I'm also having similar questions/thoughts to the OP. I want to do cross country travel in the states with my better half and two dogs. Is this something that is fun and enjoyable? Landing at different airports/FBO's, etc? Wondering if anyone has any advice. I thought the Cessna's were too old for the cheaper ones and I came across the Cirrus SR22 that looks pretty cool. Although haven't seen nor flown the plane so not sure how it is on the comfort side of things. I'd like to be able to have long range but also realize we would probably want a break after 3-4 hours of flying anyway, so speed would be nice to be able to cover more ground during that time. Haven't set a budget yet but looking briefly at the earlier Cirrus SR 22 turbo models which seem to be around 150-250k.

Since I'll be flying with dogs, wondering what elevation I could reasonably go to and if that would be enough to travel around the states. Or do I need to consider a pressurised aircraft, but seems the maintenance costs pick up considerably with this option. I saw a Piper Malibu (but then I'd probably be looking at an older one) but it seemed a bit more complex and think a Cirrus SR22 would be enough. Although I do want comfort for my passengers, unsure if the rear seats fold down or not. Useful load looking at 220lbs for myself, with my better half and two dogs looking at approx 500lbs there in total and probably need another 200lbs for luggage, plus fuel.
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SR22 is a great plane. Very comfortable. Probably one of the best 4 place single engines out there in the comfort department. However, you may run into some issues. 1. I don't think turbo(or any nice) 22s are priced that low. I think they are quite a bit higher unless they need an engine or something like that. 2. With 700lb payload, you will only have about 2.5 hours of fuel in an SR22 or less than 400mile range. 3. To really get any use out of the turbo, you need to fly high enough to use oxygen. Probably not feasible with dogs.
 
As WDD said, once you get your license, you will get better idea of what you really need. For example, 200lb of luggage is a lot and problematic for most small planes with seats filled. However, for your stated mission you probably need a 6-place plane or a small twin.
 
genna said:
As WDD said, once you get your license, you will get better idea of what you really need. For example, 200lb of luggage is a lot and problematic for most small planes with seats filled. However, for your stated mission you probably need a 6-place plane or a small twin.
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And, you might find that 90% of what you want to do can be fulfilled by a cheaper XYZ plane with less capacity, and for those occasions when you need the extra hauling ability or range you can simply rent.
 
A tip tanked IO-520 Debonair/4 Seat Bonanza might be the answer. 170+ knots TAS, 13 GPH, 110-120 gallons.

Now, I'm not sure your bladder could handle it.
 
Flew Michigan to Fort Pierce a few years back in my Arrow. The plane could do it in one stop, the passengers took 2.
 
If you want to be in a piston, the only plane that I can think of that can do that trip reliably, especially with weather is the Piper Malibu or Mirage. Trips that long are almost always going to have weather somewhere around departure, enroute or destination. Today, winds are whipping. Lots of weather, and a big southerly wind. In the Malibu easy PIE to HPN flight at 25,000 feet. 3 hr 50 minutes. Going back the other way, would be though, best to drop down to 14,000 feet but a whopping 6 hours. No problem, the Malibu holds 7.5 hrs fuel. That is filing direct. In reality, probably going to get some airway routing on departure and destination.
 
Yeah. If wife and I are flying 2 hrs is about it Give me a plane with a little over 3 hrs endurance and I’m
 
mandm said:
Hi there, I'm new to the forum and flying. I'm also having similar questions/thoughts to the OP. I want to do cross country travel in the states with my better half and two dogs. Is this something that is fun and enjoyable? Landing at different airports/FBO's, etc? Wondering if anyone has any advice. I thought the Cessna's were too old for the cheaper ones and I came across the Cirrus SR22 that looks pretty cool. Although haven't seen nor flown the plane so not sure how it is on the comfort side of things. I'd like to be able to have long range but also realize we would probably want a break after 3-4 hours of flying anyway, so speed would be nice to be able to cover more ground during that time. Haven't set a budget yet but looking briefly at the earlier Cirrus SR 22 turbo models which seem to be around 150-250k.

Since I'll be flying with dogs, wondering what elevation I could reasonably go to and if that would be enough to travel around the states. Or do I need to consider a pressurised aircraft, but seems the maintenance costs pick up considerably with this option. I saw a Piper Malibu (but then I'd probably be looking at an older one) but it seemed a bit more complex and think a Cirrus SR22 would be enough. Although I do want comfort for my passengers, unsure if the rear seats fold down or not. Useful load looking at 220lbs for myself, with my better half and two dogs looking at approx 500lbs there in total and probably need another 200lbs for luggage, plus fuel.
Click to expand...

@mandm, I would suggest you start a new thread with your stated mission requirements. Otherwise, you're going to get a bunch of answers that confuse you with the original poster of this thread.

I would suggest that you look into local flight training first. Learn a bit about flying, at least get to solo in a rental aircraft. If you want to buy after that, OK, but I wouldn't buy a plane before learning to fly.

If you are going to buy early, consider a Diamond DA40 as well. A bit slower and easier to fly. If you're really into the Cirrus, maybe start with an SR20, fairly comparable to the DA40. Once you (and your wife) have some time under your belt(s), then upgrade to the SR22.
 
i know it's old, but a good thought exercise
BSV 5hrs, 3pax, no fuel reserve
make a fuel stop, gain a pax and reserve
regular viking has more fuel capacity, 92 gallons, 1400+ miles
 
flyingcheesehead said:
@mandm, I would suggest you start a new thread with your stated mission requirements. Otherwise, you're going to get a bunch of answers that confuse you with the original poster of this thread.

I would suggest that you look into local flight training first. Learn a bit about flying, at least get to solo in a rental aircraft. If you want to buy after that, OK, but I wouldn't buy a plane before learning to fly.

If you are going to buy early, consider a Diamond DA40 as well. A bit slower and easier to fly. If you're really into the Cirrus, maybe start with an SR20, fairly comparable to the DA40. Once you (and your wife) have some time under your belt(s), then upgrade to the SR22.
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If you're considering a DA40, get a Grumman Tiger instead. ;-)
 
Never understood the range thing. My 182 will fly hours past when I wanted to land and pee and stretch my legs.
 
denverpilot said:
Never understood the range thing. My 182 will fly hours past when I wanted to land and pee and stretch my legs.
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From the perspective of having a buffer in case of unexpected delays/winds/ceilings, plus the ability to tanker a bit, I see where people like to have extra range. Still, exploring that on every flight sounds terrible.
 
N1120A said:
From the perspective of having a buffer in case of unexpected delays/winds/ceilings, plus the ability to tanker a bit, I see where people like to have extra range. Still, exploring that on every flight sounds terrible.
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Yup. I liked not worrying too much about IFR reserves with my LR tanks, but I rarely flight planned to anything close to max endurance. Just too long.
 
denverpilot said:
Yup. I liked not worrying too much about IFR reserves with my LR tanks, but I rarely flight planned to anything close to max endurance. Just too long.
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Exactly. I love having the 80 gallon tanks in the Bonanza, but I'm not gonna loaf back to 10.5 LOP and squeeze all that range out. I'm gonna fly no more than 4 hours at best power cruise.
 
Mooney J standard tanks, 8 hours, ~1150nm. With long range tanks, you can go 1800nm... my personal record is 6 hours...


Tom
 
denverpilot said:
Never understood the range thing. My 182 will fly hours past when I wanted to land and pee and stretch my legs.
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If you want to fly internationally, without installing ferry tanks, it’s important.
For example if you can fly 900+ nm you can fly directly from USA to PR, bypassing expensive fuel stops in Bahamas, T&C . Not mention saving at least an hour or two. If you don’t do 1000 mile cross countries very often, probably not that important.


Tom
 
MooneyDriver78 said:
If you want to fly internationally, without installing ferry tanks, it’s important.
For example if you can fly 900+ nm you can fly directly from USA to PR, bypassing expensive fuel stops in Bahamas, T&C . Not mention saving at least an hour or two. If you don’t do 1000 mile cross countries very often, probably not that important.


Tom
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PR isn't international ;-).

In a 200 knot airplane, I'm happy to fly 900nm with a tailwind. I'm just not interested in peeing in a bottle.
 
N1120A said:
PR isn't international ;-).

In a 200 knot airplane, I'm happy to fly 900nm with a tailwind. I'm just not interested in peeing in a bottle.
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Good point, if you fly direct, no customs to deal with.

I guess you won’t be doing any around the world flights? ;-)


Tom
 
Rockymountain said:
If you want to be in a piston, the only plane that I can think of that can do that trip reliably, especially with weather is the Piper Malibu or Mirage. Trips that long are almost always going to have weather somewhere around departure, enroute or destination. Today, winds are whipping. Lots of weather, and a big southerly wind. In the Malibu easy PIE to HPN flight at 25,000 feet. 3 hr 50 minutes. Going back the other way, would be though, best to drop down to 14,000 feet but a whopping 6 hours. No problem, the Malibu holds 7.5 hrs fuel. That is filing direct. In reality, probably going to get some airway routing on departure and destination.
Click to expand...

I haven't flown a plane yet that lacked the ability to wait out weather on a long XC.
 
mrjones30 said:
Does anybody know what type of single engine piston aircraft has the best NM range? Also "Reasonably priced"? I know factors come into play like weather conditions, power...etc. Under perfect conditions.


Thank you in advance for your input!
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Cessna 152 II with long range tanks. Best value and range for your money. Plus or minus 9 hours endurance at 10,000. I've Flown back and forth twice CLE to FLL in a 182 with fender skirts.
 
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