Aircraft model
CESSNA 172Q
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The 172Q Cutlass: a fixed-gear 172 with the 180 hp Lycoming O-360 in place of the 160 hp O-320 and maximum weight raised to 2,550 lb. Cessna built it from 1983 until the piston line stopped in 1986, as the top of the Skyhawk range rather than as a separate model, and it is easily confused with the retractable 172RG which was also called Cutlass.
Twenty extra horsepower and a constant-speed propeller turn the 172 from a trainer into something that will carry four adults and some fuel, which the 160 hp aircraft will not honestly do. Because it is neither the cheap trainer nor the retractable it tends to be overlooked, which keeps prices sensible. Ownership is 172 ownership — the deepest parts and maintenance pool in aviation — with a slightly larger fuel bill and an engine that is, if anything, easier to live with than the O-320.
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-360-A4N |
| Horsepower | 180 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | FAR23 |
| Production start | 1983 |
| Production end | 1986 |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 122 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 475 nm |
| Service ceiling | 17,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 680 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 48 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,690 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,335 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,070 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 746 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,550 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,480 lb |
| Usable fuel | 54 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 10.1 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $108,400 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $185,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $32,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $46,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 33 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 13 |
| Median year built | 1983.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | — |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | — |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 7 |
| Transfers per 100 active | — |
| Airworthiness directives | 5 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | none |
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 | — · class median 35.76 · 202 models in class |
| Severity | — · class median 12.7 |
| Access | — · class median 820.5 |
| Support | 1.1 of 10 · class median 141.5 |
| Liquidity | — · class median 19.57 |