How far can atypical small plane travel?

Answer 1

For arguments sake, lets say a typical small plane is single engine with a four person occupancy cabin. Under this definition, a typical aircraft is a 161 Piper Warrior. This aircraft has a fuel capacity of 48 useable gallons, cruizes at about 145 mph, and burns about 8 gallons per hour (average). Knowing that Distance = Rate multiplied by Time, we can calculate the average distance that this aircraft is capable of. We know that the rate is 145 mph, but what is the time? To calculate the time, we must use the information about the fuel capacity and fuel burn rate. By dividing the 48 Gallons of fuel capacity by the 8 Gallons per hour, we find that the aircraft can travel 6 hours. Ah ha, now we know the time. Multiplying the rate (148 mph) by the time (6 hrs), we see that the distance that the plane can travel is 888 miles. *Note that this will run the aircraft out of fuel and therefore pilots will pad these values to allow for at least a half hour of extra fuel onboard and all calculations consider that there is no wind.