Nathan Young wrote:
: From the fuel consumption and usable, I'm guessing you fly a Cherokee
: 180/Archer? If so, you can probably do better than 11gph by flying
: high and leaning aggressively. On long xc's flown at 8-11k ft, I plan
: for 10gph and end up getting better.

I fly a Cherokee 180, and I routinely plan for 10 gph and get
8.5-9 gph. From all I've read it's pretty much impossible to hurt the
engine with the mixture knob at power setting less than 75%, so I usually
fly at 65-70% power and lean until the power drops off slightly, but
before it's rough. It works out to be right about at peak EGT, and
consequently the 8.5-9 gph. My last trip from Ohio to Virginia had a 30
kt tailwind, so I throttled back to 55% power at 9000'. Had 135kt
groundspeed and burned 12 gal in 1.75 hours... Like cruising in a
Cessna 150, but with better climb...


: If the weather is good VFR, I would fly the 750 with a single refuel
: in the middle of the trip. Use airnav.com to pick the cheapest fuel
: stop.

Airnav rocks. Between that and DUATS to make wind-corrected
flight plans, you can almost forget all the paperwork for the PPL (j/k).

: If the weather is IFR, there are lots of decisions to be made as
: Cherokees have poor IFR range.

Actually, given the trainer/low-end-cruiser status of a Cherokee,
I think it's got pretty good range. Remember that just because you have a
bigger engine doesn't mean you need to use it. The airframe is happy with
a 150 hp engine at 8 gal/hour. Putting more power on it in cruise won't
get you there much faster ( 5 kt), but just burn more gas.

-Cory
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