Aircraft model
CESSNA 172L
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The 1971-1972 Skyhawk. Its one meaningful change is the tubular spring-steel main landing gear legs that replaced the flat leaf springs, widening the track and giving the aeroplane the ground stance every later 172 has. It absorbs student arrivals better and is less inclined to skip sideways on a crosswind landing. Everything else is standard 172: 150 hp, about 114 knots, four seats that really seat two adults and their luggage.
The L is a perfectly ordinary used buy with no model-specific traps, which is the point. Lycoming O-320 parts and overhauls are routine, mechanics know the airframe cold, and insurance is straightforward for a low-time pilot. The honest downsides are the ones you cannot fix: it is slow, it has no useful load margin once four adults get in, and forty-plus years of flight-school cycles leave their mark on the airframe. Budget for an avionics upgrade and check for corrosion, particularly if it has lived near salt water.
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 | 1971 |
| Production end | 1972 |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 114 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 500 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 | 980 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 752 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,300 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,320 lb |
| Usable fuel | 38 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 8.4 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $55,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $175,000 |
| 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 | 1,352 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 858 |
| Median year built | 1971.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 37 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 4 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 43.12 per 1,000 active · base 858 active |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 26.81 per 1,000 active · base 858 active |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 190 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 22.14 per 100 active · base 858 active |
| Airworthiness directives | 6 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
Peer scores
A score runs from 0 to 10 within the model's peer class: a position, not a grade, and the six are never added together.
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 5.6 of 10 · class median 28.36 · 202 models in class |
| Severity | 5.3 of 10 · class median 11.65 |
| Access | 8.2 of 10 · class median 767.75 |
| Support | 8.9 of 10 · class median 141.5 |
| Liquidity | 7 of 10 · class median 19.57 |