Cessna 172 rough draft

Cessna 172 Review - Is The 172 The Right Aircraft For You?

If you are into flying or have a remote interest in it, you probably have noticed that the Cessna 172 is almost everywhere. It seems like every second aircraft that fly's over you is a Cessna 172 and half the airplanes at most small airports are Cessna 172's.

That did not happen by accident. It is a great airplane that pilots have enjoyed flying for literally decades now. It is easy to fly, nice looking and has a lot of room for a 4-seater aircraft.   

Cessna 172

Cockpit of Cessna 172

 But here's the challenge: The 172 has a lot of competition in terms of other airplanes that you can buy instead of this one. The reason that is a problem is because it can complicate your buying choice. If you have a bunch of other airplanes to compare against, you need to figure out which is the right one for you and you can easily get stalled and buy the wrong one.

Specifications

The specifications below are for the Cessna 172B, 172R and Cessna 172R Skyhawk.




3 Important Ways To Tell If The Cessna 172 Is Right For You


First - Think About Your Seating

How Often Are You Going To Use 4 Seats? 
This is a very important question that you are going to want to think about. If you are in the market for a Cessna 172 and you have a tight budget, you might want to think about down sizing to the Cessna 152.

If you don't ever plan on flying around with 4 people, or you only plan on doing so when you have to take the extended family for rides after your turkey dinner, then you might just want to consider the 152. And then when you want a 172 you can easily rent one from most flying schools or flight clubs.

You really want to crunch the numbers on this issue. No one says you have to buy a 152 instead of a 172. But it is important to at least give yourself a couple hours to go through this thought process to better understand what you do want in your next airplane.


The reason I say this is because if your not going to fully use the 172, you could take that extra money you will pay for it and buy yourself an even better 152! So make sure you figure out if you are going to use the 4-seater.

Because if you don't and just rent a 4-seater when you need to, it is not that big of a deal as you'll be saving a lot of money in fuel savings by owning a 2-seater 152. So if you have to rent a 172 for a few hours a year - that should not break the bank and your still likely going to be well ahead financially.

Not only that - you DON'T have to buy a 152 instead. But if you decided on a 2-seater, you could get yourself a faster, newer & cooler one to fly around it and then rent the 172 when needed. (It's just an idea to kick around.) But at the very least - think about what the same dollar amount your going to spend on the 4-seater can get you in terms of an awesome 2-seater.


Second - Will This Be Your Only Plane?


One of the great things about buying a Cessna 172 is that it is good preparation for flying other larger Cessna's as you get more hours under your belt. If you get some good hours on the 172 that you buy, you're going to have a lot of hours for insurance purposes, which should help you out in getting better rates on some of the bigger Cessna models.

Also, it is not going to be that big of a jump in terms of relearning everything if you move from a 172 to a 182 or 210. Sure if you move up to a Cessna 210 your going to have more speed, power and things to deal with such as landing gear. But they are both high wing aircraft's that have similar flying characteristics.

So even though there will be a bit of a learning curve, there should not be a huge one as you already understand the characteristics of this type of aircraft and will have had a few hundred hours or more on it!


One of the great things about owning a Cessna like the 172 is the fact that you can easily get rid of them when you want to buy a bigger model. If you do buy a 172 and down the road feel that you want to upsize to a 210, you should be able to sell your 172 for a reasonable price as there has historically been a really good resale market for this aircraft.

Of course - that is assuming the one you are selling is in good condition. That said - it should be a lot easier to sell your 172 on the used market then some obscure airplane you bought that no one else wants. You've probably seen more then a few of them on the market & they sit forever.

Third - One Of The Best Safety Records

The world's most popular airplane, not surprisingly, has a great safety record. Safety and simplicity sell. In its latest safety review, the AOPA Air Safety Foundation looked at all the Cessna 172 accidents that occurred from 1982 through 1988 — more than 1,600 of them. With 24,130 Skyhawks in the fleet, that's a good record, but it is sobering to think that every year about 237 Skyhawks are involved in reportable accidents — that's more than four per week. Happily, most of the accidents result in little or no injury to the occupants.

The Cessna was compared to other light four-place aircraft that make up the bulk of the training and entry-level transportation fleet. Included in the comparative aircraft group were the Beech Musketeer series, the fixed-gear Cessna Cardinal, the Piper Cherokee, the Gulfstream American AA-5 Traveler, and the Aerospatiale Tobago.

In terms of overall accidents per 100 aircraft in the fleet and per 100,000 hours of flight, the 172 had a very slight edge over the comparative aircraft. But there are some significant differences in other areas. The Skyhawk has fewer serious accidents, which may be attributed to its almost universal use as a trainer. Instructional flying is proportionately much safer than personal flying. Pilots are less prone to fall victim to the high-risk accident areas when under an instructor's supervision.

As with many other single-engine, fixed-gear aircraft, maneuvering was the leading phase of flight for serious 172 accidents. Most of these mishaps involved low-level flight interrupted by terrain, obstacles, or water. While flying close to the ground may give a great sensation of speed, the sudden stop that frequently ensues is usually lethal.

The Cessna 172 is probably as docile and easy to fly as an aircraft can be. It's a simple airplane, with simple systems and simple procedures. If pilots maintain a modicum of skill and avoid the big judgment errors, the 172 is about as safe as they come.

In The End

Whether you are looking to purchase your first single engine light aircraft or upgrading from a Cessna 152, the Cessna 172 is a great aircraft to invest in. Not only is the 172 still manufactured, but it maintains a fairly decent resale value. If purchasing a new Cessna 172 is out of the budget, you are surely able to find older, well maintained 172's at a more reasonable cost. 

Because of their popularity in aviation training, the Cessna 172 is among the safest light aircraft in operation today. The 172 is a very favorable and forgiving aircraft to fly. In the end you will not regret your purchase of the Cessna 172!