Aircraft model
CESSNA 172I
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The 1968 Skyhawk, and the most important year in the type's history for a buyer: this is where Cessna dropped the six-cylinder Continental O-300 for the four-cylinder Lycoming O-320. The aeroplane gained five horsepower, lost weight in the nose, burned less fuel and became dramatically easier and cheaper to maintain. It is otherwise the same four-seat trainer as the year before.
That makes the 172I a sensible dividing line. If you want an old, cheap Skyhawk without inheriting the Continental problem, start here. The Lycoming O-320 runs 2,000 hours between overhauls, is supported by every shop, and costs meaningfully less to rebuild. The rest is the usual sixty-year-old-trainer checklist: corrosion, damage history, fuel tank condition, and the cost of a panel you can actually use. Insurance for a new pilot in one is about as cheap as four-seat aircraft ownership gets.
Compare with…
Put CESSNA 172I side by side with up to two other models.
- CESSNA 172I
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-320-E2D |
| Horsepower | 150 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1968 |
| Production end | 1968 |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 114 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 520 nm |
| Service ceiling | 13,100 ft |
| Climb rate | 645 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 41 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,525 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,250 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,005 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 771 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,300 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,295 lb |
| Usable fuel | 39 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 8.4 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $60,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $135,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $28,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $40,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 575 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 353 |
| Median year built | 1968.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 14 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 39.661 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 25.52 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 67 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 18.983 |
| Airworthiness directives | 5 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 353 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 353 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 353 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 7.1 of 101 |
| Severity | 6.7 of 102 |
| Access | 9.9 of 103 |
| Support | 6.6 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 3.9 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 34.2 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 32.28 · 202 models in class.
- Severity: class median 12.5.
- Access: class median 775.
- Support: class median 147.5.
- Liquidity: class median 19.9.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.