M20J Range

[Scott Ashton]

Just curious what M20J drivers are flight planning for the max IFR range in the real world with standard tanks....  750NM +/-?

Scott

[N201MKTurbo]

The longest legs I normally fly are KCHD to KHQZ. It is about 750. Even if the plane will go further, I can’t.

[N201MKTurbo]

I once flew from KRDM KCHD. it is a little over 800. @201er holds the record on here, but he has long range tanks.

[201Steve]

I did 800nm in an 18 Kt headwind, 6.5 start to shutdown, had 12 gallons when I landed. 
 

friend did 850 from KOSH to near Jacksonville FL last week in a J

if the winds are right, 1000. 

[201er]

1320nm in 11 hours upwind KLDJ to KHYI NJ to San Marcos Texas.

1400nm in 9 hours downwind KAPA to KLDJ Denver to NJ

1116nm in 8 hours KLDJ to CYWG NJ to Winnipeg

1057nm in 7 hours KLDJ to KEYW NJ to Key West

just to name a few

98 gallons

 

[PT20J]

I flight plan conservatively 150 kts and 10 gph. I want to land with an hour of gas in the tanks. That makes no wind range of 810 nm. If IFR I have to factor in alternates if weather requires. 

[EricJ]

With a J model and full tanks your bladder or general fatigue will likely be a bigger limit than fuel duration.    With standard tanks you have roughly six hours of fuel, more if you want to plan carefully, less if you want to stay low and go fast.    I don't want to be in the airplane nearly that long for one stretch, so it makes it easy to make very conservative fuel stops or just tanker fuel for the next leg or a return flight.   If you really want to plan carefully and can do long legs, the responses above give a good idea of what is possible.    Like Skip, I usually plan for 150 kts and 10 gph, and that's really easy to hit and not be slow.   I'm usually WOT/2500 and lean to about 10gph.  That will give you a variety of airspeeds depending on pressure alt, temp, etc., but it's generally around 150 kts.

[201Steve]

As has often been pointed out, not having to stop for gas is the best speed mod. If I’m by myself and the weather isnt crap near destination, I can really stretch it out. Pee bags and snacks, good to go. I have a bad lower back but for whatever glorious reason, it does not bother me sitting in my airplane. It’s a real serendipitous suprise actually. In the car I’m aching after a few hours.   I’ll accept a lower airspeed, around 140 deep LOP around 8.5GPH bc going 160 and stopping for gas is still slower. 
 

sucking on O2 really helps too. Even if staying at 7-8k

[MikeOH]

25 minutes ago, 201er said:

1320nm in 11 hours upwind KLDJ to KHYI NJ to San Marcos Texas.

1400nm in 9 hours downwind KAPA to KLDJ Denver to NJ

1116nm in 8 hours KLDJ to CYWG NJ to Winnipeg

1057nm in 7 hours KLDJ to KEYW NJ to Key West

just to name a few

98 gallons

 

7, 8, 9, 11 hours....my bladder will remain completely unfamiliar with those numbers I'm a 3-4 hour max per leg pilot these days!

[Paul Thomas]

My limiting range factor is passengers; we stop every 4 hours. If I did a long trip by myself, I'd probably push for another hour, landing with over 15 gallons (all in one tank). I'm a chicken when it comes being low on gas. For quick planning, 150 knot &10 gallons/hour is how I do it so that gives me 750 solo, 600 with a passenger.

30 minutes ago, 201Steve said:

As has often been pointed out, not having to stop for gas is the best speed mod. If I’m by myself and the weather isnt crap near destination, I can really stretch it out. Pee bags and snacks, good to go. I have a bad lower back but for whatever glorious reason, it does not bother me sitting in my airplane. It’s a real serendipitous suprise actually. In the car I’m aching after a few hours.   I’ll accept a lower airspeed, around 140 deep LOP around 8.5GPH bc going 160 and stopping for gas is still slower. 
 

sucking on O2 really helps too. Even if staying at 7-8k

I have a bad back as well and it's triggered by seating. I've found that I don't have an issue in some cars (or the airplane), but do in others.

[Hank]

Its difficult to get a range in miles. I've flown 4:45 twice in my C with 52 gallon tanks, and refilled with 41 gallons, leaving 1:15 in fuel.

I recently made three round-trips to Houston, 505 nm each way. My times ranged from almost exactly 3.0 with increasing tailwinds to 4.5 hours with headwinds and five (5!) reroutes . . . . All at similar altitudes (8000 west, 9000 east) and similar power settings (WOT- and 2500). Few things compare to climbing through 6000 at 95 mph indicated with a groundspeed of 120 knots!

[jetdriven]

1 hour ago, 201Steve said:

I did 800nm in an 18 Kt headwind, 6.5 start to shutdown, had 12 gallons when I landed. 
 

friend did 850 from KOSH to near Jacksonville FL last week in a J

if the winds are right, 1000. 

We did 983nm and burned 54 gallons last summer.  KAIA-KTSO. No real average tailwind either.  Just 9500 LOP

[201Steve]

15 minutes ago, Paul Thomas said:

I'm a chicken when it comes being low on gas.

Me too. But I’m not as chicken about it at altitude. So, I pay very close attention to how much fuel, in gallons, remains in each tank. Im doing math with the fuel totalizer and backing it up with expected burn. I practically burn one dry before I start my descent. I’ve never gotten below 2-3 gallons and thus never had a pressure drop or sputter, but the conservative math I use shows I’m right on the edge.  Then, when I make my final tank switch, I have a pile of gas in the active tank which will be the one I approach and land on. My fuel flow meter is out of adjustment by about 4 total gallons over the full 64 gallons, on the conservative side. Adds a little more margin and probably why I’ve never ran one dry. 
 

the cirrus I fly is calibrated perfectly, down to the decimal. 

[midlifeflyer]

Since I’m going to make stops every 3 - 3.5 hours anyway (I don’t see aviation as an Iron Man competition),  I plan based on the worst fuel burn. I’m still monitoring fuel usage with a totalizer or keeping track of my time expectations and keeping an eye on the fuel gauges since I will always believe them when they go low.

[Danb]

12 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said:

I once flew from KRDM KCHD. it is a little over 800. @201er holds the record on here, but he has long range tanks.

Mike has super long tanks..

[Pinecone]

12 hours ago, MikeOH said:

7, 8, 9, 11 hours....my bladder will remain completely unfamiliar with those numbers I'm a 3-4 hour max per leg pilot these days!

Travel John pee bags work quite well.

[MikeOH]

1 hour ago, Pinecone said:

Travel John pee bags work quite well.

So, what? Not my idea of a pleasant flight experience just to save a 45 minute stop.

Additionally, my wife is not enamoured with the Travel Jane solution (or, any other in flight 'solution')

You, and your wife's, mileage may vary.

[TangoTango]

I just did 860nm and burned 46 gallons in 5.8 hours. I was at 11,500 most of the way with a decent tailwind, sucking on o2, leaned to peak and 2500rpm. I find a lot of joy in beating the airline schedule to my destination and making it nonstop is the best way to do that. I find that strategically managing liquid input and having some snacks handy makes long legs much more tolerable. The travel john is mainly on board for moral support 

On a related note - how many of you run one tank completely dry? Or is @201Steve's method of leaving a few gallons the preferred method? I've always been too nervous to run one dry, but I do like the idea of knowing all my fuel is in one tank for landing.

[PT20J]

There are three great advantages to having my own airplane:

1. I never miss my flight.

2. My bags always arrive with me.

3. I can land and pee anytime I need to.

[Slick Nick]

1 hour ago, PT20J said:

There are three great advantages to having my own airplane:

1. I never miss my flight.

2. My bags always arrive with me.

3. I can land and pee anytime I need to.

This. I commute about 400nm by airliner for work, and on days when the flights are delayed, or I’ll be fighting for a jumpseat and having to go in several hours early, it’s nice to be able to hop in your own IFR machine and head out. Sure, it costs me a lot more, but aren’t we always looking for reasons to go flying anyway? 

[Jackk]

I love my planes, I love flying, but at about 3hrs I like to land and if anything just walk around.

 

 Unless I’m getting paid (well), or it’s the zombie apocalypse, don’t want to sit in a seat for much over 3hrs, it’s just not enjoyable.

[Hank]

3 hours ago, Jackk said:

I love my planes, I love flying, but at about 3hrs I like to land and if anything just walk around.

 Unless I’m getting paid (well), or it’s the zombie apocalypse, don’t want to sit in a seat for much over 3hrs, it’s just not enjoyable.

Three hours is nice; at four hours, I'm ready to stand up and walk around--but sometimes headwinds and ATC reroutes conspire against me . . . .

[Scott Ashton]

I’ve done 6.5 hrs a few times (in a sling and in a 182 several times)   I was hoping to get naples-Cleveland non stop - or at least have the option to…but a stop is fine…

Florida is a very long state and naples is way down there so I lose two hours just getting to state line…

[201er]

10 hours ago, Pinecone said:

Travel John pee bags work quite well.

You kidding me? For the durations I fly that would cost a fortune! 

[IvanP]

My fuel tanks have much larger capacity than my bladder and thus I plan on 3-4 hour legs for the sake of my personal comfort and that of my passenger(s). Mileage will vary depending on winds. While there are options for in-light relief, these are activities I just refuse to undertake while flying a Mooney unles absolutely necessary when landing is not an option.  

Edited Thursday at 01:26 AM by IvanP