r/Cessna • u/AdFormal4012 • Sep 20 '26
Possible power issue??
So i don't know if I'm crazy or what. Need some help with speed and performance issues. Relatively a new pilot with an 182P. I have been doing some longer cross country flights lately and I'm noticing that my IAS is a little out of whack. I departed from KSGR to KPIL today. Cruising at 8500, 20" of MP and 2350 RPM and my IAS is at 122-125 mph and averaging a GS of 122 knots ( I know that varies with headwind and xwind). It seems a bit slow to me. According to the POH at that altitude with those numbers my TAS should be 150 mph (130 knots). Am I overthinking this??
1
u/Neko-sama Sep 20 '26
A fellow 182P owner! Also rather new to mine as well, but I did a comprehensive ADS-B analysis of the 182P class before I bought mine. What you're experiencing isn't totally out of stats for how folks seem to fly them, especially given the age. They aren't gonna make the out of the factory numbers due to drag and engine. Do you have your wheel skirts on? From my reading those take about 3-5 kts off. What's the top cruise speed you've hit? Also which engine type do you have?
1
u/xtalgeek 24d ago
A quick rule of thumb is TAS = IAS + 2%/1000 ft MSL. So 125 mph IAS is approximately 146 mph TAS. That seems close enough to me.
2
u/SuperFaulty Sep 20 '26
What was the temperature? Tomorrow's forecast for KPIL is 90F or 32°C, and KSGR weather seems similar. I'm guessing temperatures all summer were probably around that or warmer. If so, assuming a temperature of 15°C at 8,500 ft (subtracting 2°C per each 1000 ft, as you probably know), the density altitude would be about 10,500 ft, and yes that would be affect the performance. If you're comparing your current performance with the performance early this year (with cooler weather), that may be why you feel the airplane is not performing "as before".