Aircraft model
CESSNA 172R
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Skyhawk as restarted in 1996 after Cessna's ten-year break from piston production. It is a modernised aeroplane — fuel injection, a 28-volt electrical system, better soundproofing, energy-absorbing seats, standard shoulder harnesses — and it went straight into flight schools, where most of them still are. The mission has not changed in sixty years: training and short trips.
The number to look at is the full-fuel payload. The R is heavier than any older 172 and its 160 hp engine is a derated 180 hp unit, so with 53 usable gallons aboard you have under 500 lb of cabin load. That is two adults and light bags, in a four-seat aeroplane. It is also noticeably underpowered on a hot day at altitude compared with the 180 hp 172S that superseded it, which is why the R was dropped. What you get in return is a genuinely modern, comfortable, well-built airframe with good corrosion proofing and a straightforward maintenance record, and insurance that any low-time pilot can obtain.
Compare with…
Put CESSNA 172R side by side with up to two other models.
- CESSNA 172R
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming IO-360-L2A (derated) |
| Horsepower | 160 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1996 |
| Production end | 2006 |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 122 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 580 nm |
| Service ceiling | 13,500 ft |
| Climb rate | 720 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 40 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,685 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,335 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 811 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 493 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,450 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,639 lb |
| Usable fuel | 53 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 9 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $160,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $330,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $34,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $48,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 1,536 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 683 |
| Median year built | 1999.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 72 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 5 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 105.421 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 27.822 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 83 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 12.153 |
| Airworthiness directives | 28 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 683 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 683 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 683 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 6.2 of 101 |
| Severity | 6.9 of 102 |
| Access | 9.5 of 103 |
| Support | 8.3 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 0.6 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 31.5 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.