Cessna 180 Skywagon vs HELIO U-10 Super Courier

Side-by-side specs, range, and real operating costs for up to 5 aircraft.

Aircraft

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Mission Performance

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Values normalised across compared aircraft. Fuel Economy is inverted (lower burn = higher score). See table below for raw figures.

Mission Performance Details

Metric Cessna 180 Skywagon Cessna HELIO U-10 Super Courier Helio Aircraft Company
Stall Speed 48 kts 40 kts
Approach Speed 61 kts 52 kts
Cruise Speed 140 kts 140 kts
Range 695 nm 950 nm
Service Ceiling 19,600 ft 20,500 ft
Rate of Climb 1,100 fpm 1,150 fpm
Fuel Burn 13.5 gph 15.0 gph

Flight Profile

Service ceiling, range, and climb rate.

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Arc represents the climb-cruise-descent profile based on published service ceiling and range. Climb rate annotated on ascent. FL180 (18,000 ft) shown for reference.

Fuel Burn

Based on published cruise fuel flow

Trip distance
50 nm1,0002,000 nm
Metric Cessna 180 Skywagon Cessna HELIO U-10 Super Courier Helio Aircraft Company
Burn Rate
Trip Fuel
Trip Cost
Cost / hr

Trip time estimated from published cruise speed and distance. Fuel burn is a published cruise figure; actual consumption varies with altitude, loading, and conditions.

Runway Performance

Density altitude adjusted estimates

Outside Air Temp
0°F57°F115°F
Field Elevation
SL4,0008,000 ft
Density Altitude

Takeoff over 50 ft obstacle

Landing ground roll

Base distance DA penalty
Scale: 6,000 ft

FAA 10%/1,000 ft DA rule of thumb (FAA-H-8083-25B). Turboprops and jets are less sensitive in practice. Always verify against the POH.

Estimated Operating Costs

Cost per flight hour

Direct operating cost, split into where the money goes. Re-flows with your fuel and electricity prices above.

Scale:
Cessna 180 SkywagonAvgas
$131/hr
Cessna 180 Skywagon: $131 per flight hour — fuel $88, maintenance and reserve $43.
HELIO U-10 Super CourierAvgas
$182/hr
HELIO U-10 Super Courier: $182 per flight hour — fuel $98, maintenance and reserve $84.

Annual costs

Annual fixed costs (insurance, hangar, and inspection) paid whether you fly or not.

Cessna 180 Skywagon
$12,172/yr
Cessna 180 Skywagon: $12,172 per year — insurance $4,718, hangar $6,314, annual inspection $1,140.
HELIO U-10 Super Courier
$11,741/yr
HELIO U-10 Super Courier: $11,741 per year — insurance $3,500, hangar $5,441, annual inspection $2,800.

Estimates only. Costs vary by location, pilot profile, and market conditions. See individual aircraft pages for source notes.

Capability & limits

Each bar stacks your selected occupants against full fuel and the aircraft's useful-load limit (the black line). The open gap between them is spare payload. Add an occupant and the gap closes; once it's gone, fuel has to give.

Occupants at 190 + 30 lb each
1
Cessna 180 Skywagon
6 / 6 seats 84 / 84 gal fuel 596 lb wet payload 1,100 lb useful 2,800 lb MTOW
HELIO U-10 Super Courier
6 / 6 seats 120 / 120 gal fuel 600 lb wet payload 1,320 lb useful 3,400 lb MTOW

Occupants at 190 + 30 lb each (your saved weights); change the count above. Fuel at 6.7 lb/gal jet-A, 6.0 lb/gal avgas.

Dimensions & configuration

Planforms top-down, drawn to one shared scale; configuration chips below each.

Cessna 180 Skywagon
36.0 × 25.5 ft 7.5 ft tall
1× Piston Conventional Unpressurized
HELIO U-10 Super Courier
39.0 × 31.0 ft 8.8 ft tall
1× Piston Conventional Unpressurized

Payload-Range Map

Full fuel ← → Max payload

Origin: · click map to move

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