How many rpm do you guys run at cruise?

[Oracle427]

Robert41

Be careful about comparing ground speeds. Those are a factor of winds, altitude, temperature and air pressure. True airspeed is the way to compare on even terms.

I'll look at the performance charts and weather conditions to decide my cruise altitude and then decide upon a power setting. Above 6000 feet I regularly run at 2600 rpm in a 172. I forget what I put the Cherokee up to.

[jeepinforfun]

As long as everything stays in the green, it keeps me pretty serene.

[EightyFiftyFive]

2300 rpm, 50% to 60% rich at 4500 - 5500 ft asl,... MSL of around 100ft, Alt at 29.92 gives me around 7 to 6gph fuel burn somewhere in the neighborhood of 98 knots.

[iflygary]

2300 rpm, 50% to 60% rich at 4500 - 5500 ft asl,... MSL of around 100ft, Alt at 29.92 gives me around 7 to 6gph fuel burn somewhere in the neighborhood of 98 knots.

While we're on the topic of flying by the numbers it looks as though deep diver is the only one flying at proper VFR altitudes above 3000ft unless everyone else flying at the 1000ft altitudes is flying IFR. Just curious if everyone knows the proper altitudes to fly above 3000ft when flying VFR???

[EnDSchultz]

2300 rpm, 50% to 60% rich at 4500 - 5500 ft asl,... MSL of around 100ft, Alt at 29.92 gives me around 7 to 6gph fuel burn somewhere in the neighborhood of 98 knots.

While we're on the topic of flying by the numbers it looks as though deep diver is the only one flying at proper VFR altitudes above 3000ft unless everyone else flying at the 1000ft altitudes is flying IFR. Just curious if everyone knows the proper altitudes to fly above 3000ft when flying VFR???

Odds plus 500 when easterly (000-179 degrees) and evens plus 500 westerly (180-359 degrees). Note that this is based on magnetic course, which is your groundtrack (NOT heading) relative to magnetic north.

[Dogsbody55]

I usually go by fuel burn, so I fly at 7 to 8GPH, whatever the altitude and RPM that may correspond to. The exception is that at low altitude, I use 2300rpm, full rich or just slightly lean of full rich and ignore the fuel burn rate. So far, no need to repair the engine, after 40something hours flying.

Cheers,
Mike

[DC3]

So, I read the manual, and I can sympathize with those that don't read the manual. All in all the A2A manual is not bad. But bad or not I would have read it because that is the way I was taught in flight school. And like the person said earlier, old habits die hard. My flight instructor always specified 65% power (with 55% being economical and 75% being not so economical). I think 65% was his way of compromising speed and economy. So I look at the chart on page 71 of the A2A manual and determine what 65% power is going to be for my planned altitude. And as far as old habits dying hard, if I am flying VFR I follow the "Odd people fly East" (odd thousand plus 500) as it was stated in an earlier post.

So for 5,000 ft (da) you will find me cruising along at about 2460 rpm and 130+ mph tas, (~120 mph ias). Generally a little faster because I am usually not at max weight.

Note there are several gotchas in the chart on page 71, - the altitude is in density altitude, - the speed is true airspeed, not indicated airspeed, and the weight is 2400 lbs which is heavier than most of us fly (I guess on the last one).

A final comment, if you are happy cruising at 90 mph, then I would say you are just fine. If you are worried about your engine, I would say you have room to add a few more rpms.

[AKar]

I generally fly with just a nice rpm number without thinking that much about power percentage. For Cherokee, I do about 2400 rpm or so, perhaps a bit above on average. I aim to be as close to 6000 ft as conditions allow, and there that gives 60% - 65% per manual's page 74. If I've got a strong head wind, I usually increase the rpm a little to decrease time spent in an air mass going to unfavorable direction. With Cessna, the same figure would be around 2100 to 2200 rpm.

I hardly ever fly trips of more than about 250 nm, or 2 hours, at once so my fuel planning is not that critical. As I often fly in lousy weather, I just carry 'enough'. I lean for peak EGT, and get whatever fuel flow. You can cheat by checking your fuel economy (both over time and over distance) from popups. At least in Cessna, the RXP GPS does some fuel calculations for you too.

-Esa

[Tiger_Walts]

Over 5000ft I typically end up with the throttle at max and the mix leaned to engine roughness and then some squeezed back on. On warmer days I'll keep an eye on the temps by most of the time I don't have to worry. RPM usually settles around 2500 and I get about 8gph.

Below 5000ft I'll lean for power and throttle for 130mph IAS. But I try to stay below 2600RPM. Most flights I fuel plan on the conservative side, 110kts and 10gph, plus reserves. Only when a flight potentially busts 3 hours do I start reaching for the charts.

[pilot37]

So, I read the manual, and I can sympathize with those that don't read the manual. All in all the A2A manual is not bad. But bad or not I would have read it because that is the way I was taught in flight school. And like the person said earlier, old habits die hard.

I fly all the A2A Accusims plus a 727 and 737 and a couple of other GA's. So I'm guilty of winging it due to time constraints (Work, Family, etc)! Also I quite enjoy picking things up as I go along. Of course I wouldn't risk that with a real flying machine.

[Ian P]

Can I just jump in and point out that some areas of the world still use quadrantal rules for cruise levels, not "round thousands = IFR, +500 = VFR"?

A lot of countries still use four levels for cruising, whether VFR or IFR, based on your ground track: Ground track 0-89 degrees = odd thousands, 90-179 degrees = odd thousands + 500, 180-269 degrees = even thousands, 270-359 degrees = even thousands + 500.

Not everyone everywhere is controlled by the FAA and their rules.

I remember one pilot I used to talk to a lot who insisted that you should never fly VFR at a round thousand or five hundred foot interval, because that's where everyone else is. Fly at 3,200' or 2,700' and you're in clear air. A near miss is better than a mid-air collision.

He might not have been following the rules, but he had a point!

Ian P.

[awash2002]

I cruise 76J which is my personal Cherokee in FSX at 2300 to 2400 sometimes I'll do 2500 but I lean it to 8 or 9 gph and I'm getting 125mph IAS at 3000-7000

[Scott - A2A]

You all do realize, this is the first and only kind of conversation going on on flight simulation regarding cruise settings, especially using a fixed pitch prop. These are exactly the kinds of conversations you have with other pilots or discussions on the aircraft forums. This is largely because Accu-Sim is the only flight sim technology and physics available to provide this level of accuracy.

This conversation can be taken directly into the cockpit of the actual aircraft.

Scott.

[Oracle427]

I took a RL flight in a 172N from KLDJ to KDDH this weekend.

I kept a detailed VFR navigation log throughout the flight and decided to fly the exact same route in FSX the following day using real world weather. The conditions were basically identical with weak winds aloft.

The A2A 172 gave me nearly the exact same climb and cruise performance and I arrived at each of my checkpoints more or less on time and at my destination within a couple of minutes of the actual time. I even had the same amount of fuel consumed after landing!

I even got into some moderate turbulence at the same time just east of Albany. I'm not sure if I should thank FSRealWx or CumulusX or both apps for that.

Flying the route in FSX was eerily accurate in terms of scenery and I'm running default scenery. The were some unique terrain and man made features along the route that were hard to miss.

[taildraggin68]

You all do realize, this is the first and only kind of conversation going on on flight simulation regarding cruise settings, especially using a fixed pitch prop. These are exactly the kinds of conversations you have with other pilots or discussions on the aircraft forums. This is largely because Accu-Sim is the only flight sim technology and physics available to provide this level of accuracy.

This conversation can be taken directly into the cockpit of the actual aircraft.

Scott.

All due to the forward thinking of A2A My first "simulator" experience was in the early 80's, a certain major airline, based in Atlanta, Ga, with a 727 full motion rig encompassing the space of a hanger for the same aircraft . This was an orientation ride to show us "student pilots" one of many directions we could go. Memory of a lifetime Now many years later, I can have the same level of immersion on my laptop computer, from the comfort of my home office, without the cost of the first rig

So to be discussing the "technicalities" of cruise power settings on a flight simulator forum can be a little "boggling" to the mind sometimes I'm done hijacking this thread and will declare an inflight for hot guns and park it on the hot gun line.....Thanks again to Scott and the A2A team for the great work.