Cessna 188 vs Piper PA-25 Pawnee

Side-by-side specs, range, and operating costs.

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Dimensions & configuration

Representative planforms, drawn to shared scale.

Cessna 188
41.7 × 26.3 ft 7.7 ft tall
1× Piston Conventional Unpressurized
Piper PA-25 Pawnee
36.2 × 24.8 ft 7.2 ft tall
1× Piston Conventional Unpressurized

Flight Profile

Service ceiling, range, and climb rate.

Tap legend to isolate

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.

Mission Performance

Stall, approach, cruise, range, ceiling and climb: best values are at the top.

Mission performance specifications
Specification Cessna 188Piper PA-25 Pawnee
Stall speed 50 kt53 kt
Approach speed 66 kt69 kt
Cruise speed 98 kt87 kt
Range 256 nm260 nm
Service ceiling 11100 ft13000 ft
Rate of climb 690 fpm630 fpm
Fuel burn 16.5 gph13.0 gph

Each axis is scaled independently across the compared aircraft and printed in its own units; every vertex sits at the published figure. Higher is better on all axes: Stall, Approach and Fuel Burn are inverted (lower = higher). A missing figure breaks the line at that axis.

Fuel Burn & Range

Range, endurance, and what the fuel costs by the hour.

Cessna 188 Avgas
16.5 gph
Baseline
256 nm range 5.9 nm/gal 56 gal usable $107 fuel/hr 3h 23m endurance
Cessna 188: 16.5 gallons per hour at cruise, 256 nautical mile published range, 3 hour 23 minute endurance, 5.9 nautical miles per gallon.
Piper PA-25 Pawnee Avgas
13.0 gph
Baseline
260 nm range 6.7 nm/gal 38 gal usable $84 fuel/hr 2h 55m endurance
Piper PA-25 Pawnee: 13.0 gallons per hour at cruise, 260 nautical mile published range, 2 hour 55 minute endurance, 6.7 nautical miles per gallon.
Avgas range each cell = 1 hr of cruise · width scales with speed

Bars show published still-air range. Endurance is usable fuel divided by the published cruise burn. Estimates only. Always verify against the POH.

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

Scale:
Cessna 188 Avgas
$153 /hr
Baseline
Cessna 188: $153 per flight hour — fuel $107, maintenance and reserve $46.
Piper PA-25 Pawnee Avgas
$129 /hr
Baseline
Piper PA-25 Pawnee: $129 per flight hour — fuel $84, maintenance and reserve $45.
Cessna 188 Piston
$11,717 /yr Baseline
Cessna 188: $11,717 per year — insurance $3,200, hangar $7,282, annual inspection $1,235.
Piper PA-25 Pawnee Piston
$11,095 /yr Baseline
Piper PA-25 Pawnee: $11,095 per year — insurance $1,900, hangar $6,195, annual inspection $3,000.

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.

lb

+ lb / pax

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1
Cessna 188
1 / 1 seats 56 / 56 gal fuel 905 lb wet payload 1,241 lb useful 3,300 lb MTOW
Piper PA-25 Pawnee
1 / 1 seats 38 / 38 gal fuel 1,184 lb wet payload 1,412 lb useful 2,900 lb MTOW

Occupants at 190 + 30 lb each. Fuel at 6.7 lb/gal jet-A, 6.0 lb/gal avgas.

Payload-Range Map

Origin: · two fingers to move map

lb

+ lb / pax

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1

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