Cessna 150 and 152 Cruise Speed: Power, Altitude and Units

Cruise speed is a condition-dependent figure, not one number for every Cessna 150 or 152. The useful comparison combines the model year, speed units, power setting and altitude. A published maximum speed answers a different question and should not replace the cruise figure when comparing aircraft.

View through a Cessna 152 windscreen on final approach to Wedderburn — A Cessna 152 on final approach to Wedderburn Airport. The cockpit view connects the instruments with the view toward the runway. Photo: Seaplane silly · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized, WebP.

Read the conditions before the number

The 1960 Cessna 150 record describes 121 mph at 70 percent power and 9,000 feet. The 1963 150C record describes 125 mph at 75 percent and 7,500 feet. These are useful historical reference points, but they do not isolate the effect of the model change: power and altitude changed as well. A blank condition in the table means that the normalized record does not establish it.

Published cruise records with retained conditions (21 records)

Published cruise records with retained conditions
Reference family	Year	Model	Metric	Value	Units	Power %	Altitude ft	Condition Note	Source
Cessna 150	1960	150	Cruise speed	121	mph	70	9000	Published headline condition	[1]
Cessna 150	1961	150A	Cruise speed	121	mph	70	9000	Published headline condition	[2]
Cessna 150	1962	150B	Cruise speed	125	mph	-	-	Published headline condition	[3]
Cessna 150	1963	150C	Cruise speed	125	mph	75	7500	Published headline condition	[4]
Cessna 150	1964	150D	Cruise speed	122	mph	75	7500	Published headline condition	[5]
Cessna 150	1965	150E	Cruise speed	125	mph	75	7500	Published headline condition	[6]
Cessna 150	1966	150F	Cruise speed	120	mph	75	7500	Published headline condition	[7]
Cessna 150	1967	150G	Cruise speed	120	mph	75	7500	Published headline condition	[8]
Cessna 150	1969	150J	Cruise speed	117	mph	75	7000	Published headline condition	[9]
Cessna 150	1970	150K	Cruise speed	117	mph	75	7000	Published headline condition	[10]
Cessna 150	1971	150L	Cruise speed	117	mph	75	7000	Published headline condition	[11]
Cessna 150	1972	150L	Cruise speed	117	mph	75	7000	Published headline condition	[12]
Cessna 150	1973	150L	Cruise speed	117	mph	75	7000	Published headline condition	[13]
Cessna 150	1974	150L	Cruise speed	117	mph	75	7000	Published headline condition	[14]
Cessna 150	1977	150M	Cruise speed	106	kt	75	7000	Published headline condition	[15]
Cessna 152	1978	152	Cruise speed	107	kt	75	8000	Published headline condition	[16]
Cessna 152	1979	152	Cruise speed	107	kt	75	7000	Published headline condition	[17]
Cessna 152	1980	152	Cruise speed	107	kt	75	7000	Published headline condition	[18]
Cessna 152	1981	152	Cruise speed	107	kt	75	8000	Published headline condition	[19]
Cessna 152	1982	152	Cruise speed	107	kt	75	7000	Published headline condition	[20]
Cessna 152	1985	152	Cruise speed	106	kt	75	8500	Published headline condition	[21]

Compare a mission, not a brochure headline

For a buying decision, first identify the cruise condition that resembles the intended use. Then examine an applicable handbook chart for each aircraft at comparable weight, pressure altitude, temperature and power. Preserve the distinction between indicated, calibrated and true airspeed wherever the publication states it. The table's units are retained; an mph figure should never be read as knots.

Wind changes the ground covered in an hour without making the airplane's airspeed the same thing as groundspeed. A faster advertised figure therefore does not establish a shorter trip under different weather, routing or fuel-stop requirements. The range reference explains why reserve and tank configuration belong in that comparison.

Cessna 150 airborne just above a runway — A Cessna 150 taking off. This photograph illustrates the flight phase; it is not a source of takeoff distances or operating speeds. Photo: Navigator-avia · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized, WebP.

Which aircraft does the evidence describe?

Use the Cessna 150 model guide or Cessna 152 model guide to resolve the exact identity. These historical specification records do not establish performance for an engine conversion, alternate propeller, float installation or an unspecified Reims variant. Check the individual aircraft's approved documents and supplements before using a number operationally.

A comparison worksheet

Record the candidate aircraft, handbook edition, chart location, airspeed definition, power, altitude and weight together. Leave a field unresolved when the publication does not establish it. That worksheet makes a later correction traceable and prevents a rounded sales figure from becoming the technical basis of the comparison. Keep any measured experience separate from the historical published value; the aircraft and conditions behind the observation may differ.

Before ranking models from the table, use the published-performance interpretation guide to separate matched conditions from missing information.

Cessna 152 cockpit with two control wheels and a central radio stack — A Cessna 152 training cockpit with the instrument panel and both control wheels visible. This is one aircraft configuration. Photo: BestOnLifeform · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized, WebP.

An instrument reading and a trip speed are different comparisons

The airspeed types guide distinguishes the cockpit indication, calibrated airspeed, true airspeed and groundspeed. That distinction prevents a GPS observation in a tailwind from becoming an apparent improvement over a still-air cruise figure. For an aircraft comparison, preserve the publication's speed basis and conditions; for a trip comparison, add the route's wind and fuel-stop consequences.

Related research

Cessna 150 and 152 Range: Tanks, Power and Reserve Basis