252 Cruising speed?

[Lood]

There's a very nice looking, low time 252 for sale here in SA and two interested buyers asked what the typical speed of the 252 is in terms of flight planning.

I know a lot will depend on the specific power settings and especially the altitude, but what would the ball park figure be for, let's say 75% - 80% power at FL095 - Fl115 be?

[gjkirsch]

I would think that about 170 knots at 10,000 feet to 195 knots at 20,000 feet buring 13.5 GPH would be in the ballpark

[jackn]

I agree with gjkirsch. Mine has TKS, therefore it might be a couple knots slower than one without.

[Steve Dawson]

Whats your need for a 252? If you're going between 9.5

and 11.5 maybe a 201 would work

[Lood]

Whats your need for a 252? If you're going between 9.5

and 11.5 maybe a 201 would work

 

It's not for myself, but for two other buyer that are interested in the airplane. Here in SA, very, very few pilots are IF rated in any way and South Africa is actually too small to really make a turbo charged airplane worth it - in my humble opinion. Distances flown are not that long, making the climb to high altitudes a waste. Most local private pilots fly less than 20 hrs per year. However, a turbo would be very nice at the higher altitude airports here, specially with our high summer temps. I've longed for one in such circumstances myself.

[Earl]

I usually set mine for 65% power and at 11 gph in that altitude you will see around 165 kts TAS.  As for the comment about flying in the 9.5 to 11.5 range, I do that fairly often to avoid the hassle of O2.  But the 252 really earns its keep in the mid teens and at 75%-80% power setting you will easily see 180-190 kts but you will be burning a lot of fuel as you will need to run at 100 degF ROP or you will kill the engine.

[Jeff_S]

I got this data from Parker when I asked about how he flight plans in his Encore. Not exactly the same as a 252 but should give you an idea:

 

I typically cruise at 11.6-11.8 GPH which gives me the approximate speeds depending on altitude:
6000 - 160 KTAS
10,000 - 170 KTAS
14,000 - 175-179 KTAS
15,000 - 180 - 183 KTAS
FL190 - 188-191 KTAS
FL210 - 190-195 KTAS (195 is easy when you're lighter at end of trip)
 

[Parker_Woodruff]

 Not exactly the same as a 252 but should give you an idea:

 

 

 

Power settings and fuel flows work out to basically be the same between the 252 and Encore since you're not using the extra 10 horsepower in cruise.