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

Range figures for the Cessna 150 and 152 are meaningful only when the fuel configuration and reserve assumptions accompany the distance. Cruise range, optimum range and maximum range describe different published conditions. Sorting them into one longest-to-shortest list would conceal the choices that produced the result.

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.

Standard and long-range fuel are separate cases

The source records distinguish standard-tank figures from long-tank figures and retain usable fuel where supplied. More tank capacity creates another loading choice; it does not prove that full fuel and the same passenger load fit within the aircraft's limits. The useful-load guide connects fuel carried with the remaining payload.

Published range cases, including separate tank and reserve assumptions (40 records)

Published range cases, including separate tank and reserve assumptions
Reference family	Year	Model	Metric	Value	Units	Power %	Altitude ft	Fuel Usable gal	Reserve Basis	Condition Note	Source
Cessna 150	1960	150	Cruise range	520	mi	70	9000	22.5	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[1]
Cessna 150	1960	150	Cruise range long tanks	810	mi	70	9000	35	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[1]
Cessna 150	1960	150	Maximum range	630	mi	-	10000	22.5	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[1]
Cessna 150	1960	150	Maximum range long tanks	980	mi	-	10000	35	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[1]
Cessna 150	1963	150C	Cruise range	500	mi	75	7500	22.5	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[2]
Cessna 150	1963	150C	Cruise range long tanks	775	mi	75	7500	35	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[2]
Cessna 150	1963	150C	Optimum range	610	mi	-	10000	22.5	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[2]
Cessna 150	1963	150C	Optimum range long tanks	945	mi	-	10000	35	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[2]
Cessna 150	1964	150D	Cruise range	490	mi	75	7500	22.5	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[3]
Cessna 150	1964	150D	Cruise range long tanks	760	mi	75	7500	35	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[3]
Cessna 150	1964	150D	Optimum range	565	mi	-	10000	22.5	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[3]
Cessna 150	1964	150D	Optimum range long tanks	885	mi	-	10000	35	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[3]
Cessna 150	1966	150F	Cruise range	480	mi	75	7500	22.5	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[4]
Cessna 150	1966	150F	Cruise range long tanks	745	mi	75	7500	35	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[4]
Cessna 150	1966	150F	Optimum range	560	mi	-	10000	22.5	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[4]
Cessna 150	1966	150F	Optimum range long tanks	870	mi	-	10000	35	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[4]
Cessna 150	1969	150J	Cruise range	475	mi	75	7000	22.5	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[5]
Cessna 150	1969	150J	Cruise range long tanks	726	mi	75	7000	35	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[5]
Cessna 150	1969	150J	Optimum range	565	mi	-	10000	22.5	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[5]
Cessna 150	1969	150J	Optimum range long tanks	880	mi	-	10000	35	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[5]
Cessna 150	1973	150L	Cruise range	475	mi	75	7000	22.5	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[6]
Cessna 150	1973	150L	Cruise range long tanks	725	mi	75	7000	35	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[6]
Cessna 150	1973	150L	Optimum range	565	mi	-	10000	22.5	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[6]
Cessna 150	1973	150L	Optimum range long tanks	889	mi	-	10000	35	No reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[6]
Cessna 150	1977	150M	Cruise range	340	nm	75	7000	22.5	45 min @45% power	Condition-preserved published range	[7]
Cessna 150	1977	150M	Cruise range long tanks	580	nm	75	7000	35	45 min @45% power	Condition-preserved published range	[7]
Cessna 150	1977	150M	Maximum range	420	nm	-	10000	22.5	45 min @45% power	Condition-preserved published range	[7]
Cessna 150	1977	150M	Maximum range long tanks	735	nm	-	10000	35	45 min @45% power	Condition-preserved published range	[7]
Cessna 152	1978	152	Cruise range	350	nm	75	8000	24.5	45 min @45% power	Condition-preserved published range	[8]
Cessna 152	1978	152	Cruise range long tanks	580	nm	75	8000	37.5	45 min @45% power	Condition-preserved published range	[8]
Cessna 152	1978	152	Optimum range	415	nm	-	10000	24.5	45 min @45% power	Condition-preserved published range	[8]
Cessna 152	1978	152	Optimum range long tanks	698	nm	-	10000	37.5	45 min @45% power	Condition-preserved published range	[8]
Cessna 152	1981	152	Cruise range	320	nm	75	8000	24.5	Start/taxi/takeoff/climb + 45 min reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[9]
Cessna 152	1981	152	Cruise range long tanks	545	nm	75	8000	37.5	Start/taxi/takeoff/climb + 45 min reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[9]
Cessna 152	1981	152	Maximum range	415	nm	-	10000	24.5	Start/taxi/takeoff/climb + 45 min reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[9]
Cessna 152	1981	152	Maximum range long tanks	690	nm	-	10000	37.5	Start/taxi/takeoff/climb + 45 min reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[9]
Cessna 152	1985	152	Cruise range	315	nm	75	8500	24.5	Start/taxi/takeoff/climb + 45 min reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[10]
Cessna 152	1985	152	Cruise range long tanks	540	nm	75	8500	37.5	Start/taxi/takeoff/climb + 45 min reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[10]
Cessna 152	1985	152	Maximum range	370	nm	-	10000	24.5	Start/taxi/takeoff/climb + 45 min reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[10]
Cessna 152	1985	152	Maximum range long tanks	625	nm	-	10000	37.5	Start/taxi/takeoff/climb + 45 min reserve	Condition-preserved published range	[10]

Table sources:

Why reserve changes a comparison

Some early 150 published records use a no-reserve basis. Later records describe a reserve condition, including the later 150M reference to 45 minutes at 45 percent power. A later number can therefore be lower without showing a proportionate loss of cruise efficiency. Read each row's reserve field rather than applying one reserve convention to the entire family.

The published condition is historical evidence, not a statement that its reserve allowance satisfies today's intended flight. Determine the applicable operating requirements separately, then use the aircraft's handbook to build the actual plan. This page deliberately preserves the source wording instead of silently recomputing distances under an assumed common reserve.

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.

Turn range research into a useful buying question

Ask whether the intended route can be flown with the desired occupants, equipment, fuel stops and weather allowance. Wind, climb, routing and contingency choices can change the outcome even if two aircraft have similar brochure figures. The cruise-speed page helps explain the power and altitude side of that question.

For an altered aircraft, establish the installed tanks and engine and obtain the relevant supplements. A stock U.S. specification row is not evidence for a Reims aircraft or a converted engine installation merely because the airframe looks similar.

Range records and missing evidence

The table groups several named range measures because the distinction between them is the subject of this page. It does not imply that their values were measured under one common setup. Before calculating a difference, identify both rows and ask whether the aircraft configuration, speed condition and fuel reserve agree. If they do not, describe the difference in assumptions before attempting to interpret the distance.

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.

Endurance is time; range is distance

Fuel available and fuel use contribute to an endurance calculation, while progress over the ground determines how far that time can carry the aircraft along a route. The airspeed and groundspeed guide explains the wind distinction. More tank capacity does not establish a proportional increase in practical range if the load, reserve, routing or climb assumptions also change. Use the applicable aircraft data and a complete fuel plan rather than treating a maximum published distance as a destination guarantee.

Related research

Cessna 150 and 152 Fuel Capacity: Total, Usable and Long-Range Tanks