50lph and only 120kt

There's no doubt about it, filling the 182's tanks with avgas is expensive. They empty themselves at the rate of about 50lph and the energy released propels the C182 along at about 120kt. It'll go faster of course, but you pay dearly for the extra speed and unless there's a very good reason 2nm a minute is a decent compromise.

It's not all bad news though. The picture above shows the stuff we took for a two-night stay in France, and some of the stuff we brought back: there's a small suitcase and a holdall (and they never do); a bag of shopping (tins, jars and all sorts); a freezer bag with ice packs (keeps the fresh fish, err... fresh); bag containing laptop and assorted wires; a flight bag with a Jepp manual, charts, radios and documents; a couple of headsets; a couple of life-jackets; a dinghy and a couple of quarts of oil. After all that I still had a couple of seats at the back going empty.

When I compare that lot with the space and weight restrictions 'enjoyed' by some smaller aircraft, I realise that the C182 offers compromises that suit my flying - from short strip stuff to IFR touring. The 50lph still hurts though.