How much would it cost (fuel-wise) to fly a small plane from Nashville to Las Vegas? ?
I’m getting a rideshare with someone to Las Vegas from Nashville, TN. It is 1800 miles and we’re in this guys small airplane with 3 other people. How much should I contribute to the cost of fuel? He just emailed asking for a donation. I am in college so $100ish would be my maximum! Thanks
He said it was 1500 miles, cruises at 160 mph, and a Beach Bonanza airplane?
What aircraft? What power plant, fuel capacity, cruise speed, fuel consumption at cruise? What weight of passengers, luggage, and fuel? How many stops for fuel, food, and/or layover? These and other variables will have a huge effect on the answer.
Example: a Cessna 172L 4-seater with a 150 hp Lycoming engine can carry 42 gallons of fuel and 663 pounds for people, baggage, and flying supplies. Plan for 120 miles per hour and eight and one-half gallons per hour.
120 miles per hour equals 128 gallons of 100LL fuel for 1800 miles of flying – not including ascent and descent. Av gas 100LL sells for anywhere between $2.99 and $6.55 (average $4.56) within 50 miles of Nashville. The 172L has enough fuel for only 4-hour flights so you will be refueling 4 times each way, and the cost of fuel varies widely, as I’ve already shown. Your 128 gallons of fuel will cost between $380 and $840 – probably averaging out to about $580. Also remember: this is the cost ONE WAY – double it to get back home. Add the cost of a motel halfway – total flight time will be about 18 hours, and no pilot can do that in one day.
That’s for a bare-bones single engine aircraft that’s twice your age and half your size. No aisles, no toilet, and food/drinks is what you carry on. Replace that with – say – a Cessna 421 twin-engine 8-seater, and the speed will double, the range will double, and the fuel consumption will almost triple. Total flight time would be about 7 hours, and you’d only have to stop for fuel once each way. THAT plane would cost between $1340 and $2980 (average $2040) each way. You might get a toilet in that plane.
This doesn’t even begin to address the safety issues – like flying a small airplane across the US Midwest in the winter.
FYI: Southwest Air offers flights nonstop Nashville, TN to Las Vegas, NV for as little as $109 each way. Non-stop flight time is as little as 3.5 hours.
