Narrative:

I departed in our family cessna 182RG. With 30 gallons of 100LL for an hour and five minute flight; the flight was flown direct in VFR conditions and light winds. While on descent one hour into the flight and passing approximately 2000 feet; the engine started running rough. I turned on the electric fuel pump and the engine ran smoothly. I then turned toward the closer ZZZ1 and a minute or two later the engine started running rough again. Not wanting to fly over any populated areas or over water to ZZZ; I made an uneventful precautionary landing in an open area. Neither the aircraft nor I received any damage. The next day we pushed the plane to a levee road and had it inspected by an aviation mechanic. We added 23 gallons of 100LL. The following day we smoothed out the road; measured its length; called the ZZZ1 tower on my phone; and with an officer from the police department watching I made an uneventful takeoff and flew a short distance to a left base entry runway xxl at ZZZ1. The next day another mechanic inspected the plane at ZZZ1. I then put in another 24 gallons 100LL and flew the plane direct to ZZZ for further inspection.what went wrong? I do not know; yet! After landing we drained the tanks and got only a few gallons out! (Book unusable is 2 gals per tank.) did we have 30 gals? Was the calibration of the fuel measuring tube correct? Did the engine burn fuel at a higher rate than normal? To find out I will empty the tanks and put in fuel at 10 gallon intervals until full; making my own measuring tube. And I will make a series of flights creating fuel burn/power charts.what went right: 1) my decision to abandon the approach to ZZZ1 airport over a populated area and make an uneventful landing in a more rural area. 2) practicing engine out emergency landings as much as I do made this landing almost routine. What did I learn? I allowed myself to get rushed to depart. I did not dip the tanks on this day; in my rush takeoff I had my son (who is checked out in this plane) dip the tanks; I will never again allow anyone else to check my fuel.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: The pilot of a C182 suffered engine failure and made a safe; off airport; forced landing.

Narrative: I departed in our family Cessna 182RG. With 30 gallons of 100LL for an hour and five minute flight; the flight was flown direct in VFR conditions and light winds. While on descent one hour into the flight and passing approximately 2000 feet; the engine started running rough. I turned on the electric fuel pump and the engine ran smoothly. I then turned toward the closer ZZZ1 and a minute or two later the engine started running rough again. Not wanting to fly over any populated areas or over water to ZZZ; I made an uneventful precautionary landing in an open area. Neither the aircraft nor I received any damage. The next day we pushed the plane to a levee road and had it inspected by an aviation mechanic. We added 23 gallons of 100LL. The following day we smoothed out the road; measured its length; called the ZZZ1 tower on my phone; and with an officer from the Police Department watching I made an uneventful takeoff and flew a short distance to a left base entry Runway XXL at ZZZ1. The next day another mechanic inspected the plane at ZZZ1. I then put in another 24 gallons 100LL and flew the plane direct to ZZZ for further inspection.What went wrong? I do not know; YET! After landing we drained the tanks and got only a few gallons out! (Book unusable is 2 gals per tank.) Did we have 30 gals? Was the calibration of the fuel measuring tube correct? Did the engine burn fuel at a higher rate than normal? To find out I will empty the tanks and put in fuel at 10 gallon intervals until full; making my own measuring tube. And I will make a series of flights creating fuel burn/power charts.What went right: 1) My decision to abandon the approach to ZZZ1 Airport over a populated area and make an uneventful landing in a more rural area. 2) Practicing engine out emergency landings as much as I do made this landing almost routine. What did I learn? I allowed myself to get rushed to depart. I did not dip the tanks on this day; in my rush takeoff I had my son (who is checked out in this plane) dip the tanks; I will never again allow anyone else to check my fuel.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.