How much fuel does a Cessna 172 burn per hour? Fuel burn of 26 light aircraft

In our calculator, fuel is the largest of the costs that grow with every hour flown, and it is the first number a renter, a club or a group of owners needs. This guide lists the cruise fuel flow of 26 light aircraft — from the Comco Ikarus C42 to the Diamond DA42 twin — in litres and US gallons per hour, with the power setting and the source of each figure, as used in our aircraft ownership cost calculator, and works out what that fuel costs per hour in the US and in Europe.

Short answer: A Cessna 172 burns about 7.4 to 9 US gallons (28 to 34 litres) an hour in cruise at 65% power. The Cessna 172N/P burns 28 litres (7.4 gallons) an hour at 65% power, 4,000 ft, leaned as recommended (Cessna 172P POH); the Cessna 172S burns 34 litres (9.0 gallons) at 65% power, 6,000 ft (Cessna 172S POH). At the calculator's AVGAS prices, $7.50 a US gallon and €2.88 a litre excluding VAT, that is $56 or €81 an hour for the 172N/P and $68 or €98 for the 172S. A Cessna 152 burns 20 litres (5.3 gallons), a Piper Archer 33 litres (8.7 gallons), a Cirrus SR20 38 litres (10 gallons) and a Cirrus SR22 about 52 litres (13.7 gallons, an estimate).

Fuel burn per cruise hour, 26 light aircraft

Aircraft	l/h	gal/h	$/h	€/h
Comco Ikarus C42	12	3.2	$18	€31
Tecnam P2008 JC	17	4.5	$25	€43
Tecnam P2002 Sierra	17	4.5	$25	€43
Aquila A210 / A211 (AT01)	17	4.5	$25	€43
Cessna 152	20	5.3	$40	€58
Diamond DA20-C1 Katana	23	6.1	$46	€66
Piper PA-28-161 Warrior *	27	7.1	$53	€78
Cessna 172N/P Skyhawk	28	7.4	$56	€81
Robin DR400/140B *	30	7.9	$59	€86
Diamond DA40 XLT (Lycoming)	31	8.2	$61	€89
Robin DR401-160	31	8.2	$61	€89
Piper Pilot 100i *	32	8.5	$64	€92
Piper PA-28-181 Archer	33	8.7	$65	€95
Robin DR400/180 Régent	33	8.7	$65	€95
Robin DR401-180LR	33	8.7	$65	€95
Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP	34	9.0	$68	€98
Mooney M20J 201 *	34	9.0	$68	€98
Cirrus SR20	38	10.0	$75	€109
Tecnam P2010 (180 hp)	38	10.0	$75	€109
Cessna 182T Skylane	43	11.4	$86	€124
Socata TB20 Trinidad	43	11.4	$86	€124
Cirrus SR22 *	52	13.7	$103	€150
Piper PA-32-301 Saratoga *	53	14.0	$105	€153
Cirrus SR22T	55	14.5	$109	€158
Beechcraft A36/G36 Bonanza	56	14.8	$111	€161
Diamond DA42-L360 Twin Star	64	16.9	$127	€184

Cessna 172: 172N/P or 172S

"A Cessna 172" covers two quite different engines. The 172N and 172P have a Lycoming O-320 and burn 27.6–28 litres an hour at 65% power, 4,000 ft, recommended lean, according to the 172P pilot's operating handbook: 7.4 US gallons. The 172S Skyhawk SP has a Lycoming IO-360 and burns 34.1 litres an hour at 65% power, 6,000 ft, recommended lean: 9.0 US gallons. That 6 litres an hour is $12 or €17 an hour at the prices above, or $1,200 or €1,700 a year for an aircraft flying 100 hours.

From a C42 to a twin

The Rotax-engined aircraft at the top of the table burn least: the Comco Ikarus C42 10–12 litres an hour (3.2 gallons) and the Tecnam P2002, P2008 and Aquila A210 about 17 litres (4.5 gallons), on UL91 or mogas, which costs less than AVGAS: $5.50 a gallon and €2.55 a litre at the calculator's prices. Among the four-seat trainers, the Piper Warrior (27 litres), Cessna 172N/P (28), Diamond DA40 (31) and Piper Archer (33) sit within 6 litres of each other. The six-cylinder tourers burn 43 to 56 litres: Cessna 182T and Socata TB20 43, Cirrus SR22 52, Piper Saratoga 53, Cirrus SR22T 55 and Beechcraft Bonanza 56. The Diamond DA42 twin burns 64 litres, 8.5 gallons per engine.

Six of the figures are estimates or owners' figures rather than a figure published by a manual, the maker or a magazine, and are marked * in the table: the Piper Warrior, Robin DR400/140B, Piper Pilot 100i, Mooney M20J, Cirrus SR22 and Piper Saratoga. For the SR22, for instance, the POH gives best economy only at 55% power (11.3 US gallons an hour) and 58 litres an hour at 65% best power; the 52 litres in the table is our own estimate, since the POH gives no 65% best-economy figure.

Where each figure comes from

Comco Ikarus C42

10–12 l/h at 4,500 rpm, about 150 km/h (C42 flight manual)

Tecnam P2008 JC

16.6–18.2 l/h at about 65% power (P2008 JC flight manual)

Tecnam P2002 Sierra

17 l/h (Tecnam; the setting is not stated)

Aquila A210 / A211 (AT01)

16.8 l/h at 65% power, 4,000 ft (Aquila AFM)

Cessna 152

19.7 l/h at 64% power, 8,000 ft, recommended lean (Cessna 152 POH)

Diamond DA20-C1 Katana

6.0–6.2 US gal/h at 63–65% power (Diamond)

Piper PA-28-161 Warrior *

26–27.6 l/h at 65% power (Plane & Pilot; owners on EuroGA)

Cessna 172N/P Skyhawk

27.6–28 l/h at 65% power, 4,000 ft, recommended lean (Cessna 172P POH)

Robin DR400/140B *

no published figure found — estimate from the same O-320 in the DR401-160

Diamond DA40 XLT (Lycoming)

8.2 US gal/h at 65% power (Diamond; same engine as the DA42-L360 AFM table)

Robin DR401-160

28–32 l/h at 60–65% power (35 l/h at 75%)

Piper Pilot 100i *

no published figure for this engine — estimate from 180 hp Lycomings at 65% power

Piper PA-28-181 Archer

32.6–36 l/h at 65% power, best economy (Archer III; Plane & Pilot)

Robin DR400/180 Régent

33.3 l/h at 65% power (DR400/180 flight manual)

Robin DR401-180LR

33 l/h at 65% power (Robin; matches the DR400/180 manual)

Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP

34.1 l/h at 65% power, 6,000 ft, recommended lean (Cessna 172S POH)

Mooney M20J 201 *

8.6–9.5 US gal/h at 65% power, 8,000 ft (owners on MooneySpace)

Cirrus SR20

10.1 US gal/h at 65% power, 8,000 ft, best economy (SR20 POH)

Tecnam P2010 (180 hp)

10 US gal/h at 65% power (Tecnam)

Cessna 182T Skylane

43.1 l/h at 65% power, 6,000 ft, recommended lean (Cessna 182T POH)

Socata TB20 Trinidad

10.6–12.1 US gal/h at 65% power, best economy (Plane & Pilot)

Cirrus SR22 *

estimate: the POH gives best economy only at 55% power (11.3 US gal/h) and 58 l/h at 65% best power

Piper PA-32-301 Saratoga *

about 14 US gal/h at 65% power, best economy (owners on PiperOwner)

Cirrus SR22T

14.6 US gal/h at 65% power, lean of peak (SR22T POH)

Beechcraft A36/G36 Bonanza

14.8 US gal/h at 65% power, 8,000 ft (Plane & Pilot)

Diamond DA42-L360 Twin Star

8.5 US gal/h per engine at 65% power, best economy (DA42-L360 AFM)

A cruise figure is not a block-hour figure

Every figure here is a cruise fuel flow at the setting its source names (mostly 65% power; the setting of the Tecnam P2002 is not stated). An hour on the Hobbs also includes taxi, run-up, climb and descent, and a different power setting or altitude changes the flow, so your own fuel log is the better number for your aircraft. How Hobbs and tach hours differ, and which one a club bills, is in Hobbs vs tacho.

What fuel is in the cost of an hour

Fuel is only part of the hourly cost. For a 1980 Cessna 172N/P worth $100,000 that flies 100 hours a year, our calculator puts the hour at $298 at US prices, of which fuel is $56; the rest is hangar, insurance, inspections, the engine reserve, depreciation and smaller lines such as oil, subscriptions and administration. A club that rents "wet" includes the fuel in its hourly rate, one that rents "dry" adds it on top (see wet vs dry rate). And under the FAA's rule fuel is one of the four costs a private pilot may share with passengers, see can a private pilot share costs with passengers?

For a club or a group of owners the fuel question is mostly a billing one: who paid for the last fill-up, and how much of it belongs to whose flight. In Pilot-Next each pilot settles their own flight with the meter readings, and the flight becomes an invoice on their account at the club's rate. Which aircraft is cheapest once all the costs are counted, fuel included, is in what is the cheapest plane to own.