I am getting ready to do my first longish trip to a new place with the family in my 180B. I am confident that all is good, but do want to have people chime in if there is any advice. I am taking 45 gals of fuel to keep my w&b in check. 4 people on board. Leaving W29 for a 305NM run to KOWD. I am flying up and over NY and Philly class Bravo. My POH says I should expect to burn a hair less than 9 GPH. I will have a 47!!! MPH tailwind going there, and probably a similar headwind coming back. FltPlan.com says I'll be just over 2 hours there, and just at 3 hours on the way back. It also says I'll burn 23 gals there and 32 back. Obviously I am leaving myself at least an hour reserve on the way back according to these numbers. I am going to fly at 9500' there and 8500 back.
My performance charts show I will literally be running wide open throttle to achieve 65% power at 9500'. Does this sound right? So I basically just give it full throttle at that cruising altitude right?
When I lean the plane I basically pull the knob out until it sputters, then push it in maybe .5 to .75 of an inch. I do not have the type of knob you can twist like a Cessna. Mine is just push/pull. So I am not sure I have found the optimum way to lean it and may be burning more fuel than I think. I am too scared to lean it to much and hurt the engine. So are there any tips here?
I have no fuel issues on the way there with the big tailwind. But on the way home I am a little nervous. While my calculations say I'll be fine, what if I am burning way more fuel than I think? I guess I'll be able to do some calculations when I arrive to see what I burned on the northbound 2 hour trip, and that will give me an idea of what I will burn in 3 hours. On the way back I plan to run on the first tank for 45 mins, then switch to the 2nd tank and run off that for 2 hours or until the needle is so low I can't take it anymore. This should get me to my descent where I can switch back to the first tank and be assured there is plenty of fuel to land. Sound like a good plan?
Thanks everybody, got my 2 yr/old in the back seat and I just want to make sure every T is crossed and i is dotted.
My performance charts show I will literally be running wide open throttle to achieve 65% power at 9500'. Does this sound right? So I basically just give it full throttle at that cruising altitude right?
When I lean the plane I basically pull the knob out until it sputters, then push it in maybe .5 to .75 of an inch. I do not have the type of knob you can twist like a Cessna. Mine is just push/pull. So I am not sure I have found the optimum way to lean it and may be burning more fuel than I think. I am too scared to lean it to much and hurt the engine. So are there any tips here?
I have no fuel issues on the way there with the big tailwind. But on the way home I am a little nervous. While my calculations say I'll be fine, what if I am burning way more fuel than I think? I guess I'll be able to do some calculations when I arrive to see what I burned on the northbound 2 hour trip, and that will give me an idea of what I will burn in 3 hours. On the way back I plan to run on the first tank for 45 mins, then switch to the 2nd tank and run off that for 2 hours or until the needle is so low I can't take it anymore. This should get me to my descent where I can switch back to the first tank and be assured there is plenty of fuel to land. Sound like a good plan?
Thanks everybody, got my 2 yr/old in the back seat and I just want to make sure every T is crossed and i is dotted.
