Cessna 177RG
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Cardinal RG, built 1971-1978: the strutless Cardinal with retractable gear and a 200 hp fuel-injected Lycoming. It cruises at about 148 knots on around 10 gallons an hour, which makes it one of the more efficient four-seat retractables ever built, and the cabin and visibility are better than anything else in its class. For an owner who wants speed and economy without a six-cylinder fuel bill, it is a strong case.
The reservations are the landing gear and the parts supply. The hydraulic retraction system is complicated, the main gear pivots and actuators wear, and there is a well-known history of gear problems that makes a thorough gear swing and system inspection non-negotiable before purchase. Cessna support for Cardinal-specific parts is thinner than for the 172 and 182, so an owner benefits from joining the active type club. At exactly 200 hp it does not require a high-performance endorsement, but the retractable gear and constant-speed propeller do require a complex endorsement, and insurers will want retractable time before covering a low-hour pilot.
Variants of the Cessna 177RG Cardinal RG
- 177RG · 1971 · 788 active · this page
Also consider
- Cessna 182SScore 33.3/50 · 4 seats · 145 kt
- Cessna 180KScore 19.6/50 · 4 seats · 143 kt
- Beechcraft A35Score 18.4/50 · 4 seats · 152 kt
Compare with…
Put Cessna 177RG side by side with up to three other models.
- Cessna 177RG
Watch this model
One email a day if anything changes: new ADs and NTSB records.
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming IO-360-A1B6D |
| Horsepower | 200 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | FAR23 |
| Production start | 1971 |
| Production end | 1978 |
| Endorsements required | complex |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 148 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 720 nm |
| Service ceiling | 17,100 ft |
| Climb rate | 925 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 50 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,585 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,350 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,130 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 770 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,800 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,670 lb |
| Usable fuel | 60 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 11.2 gal/h |
Estimated cost to own
An estimate, not a quote. Change the inputs to match how you would fly it. Defaults are for a complex or high-performance single.
| Fuel (burn × price) | hourly | $83/h | $8,299/yr |
| Engine reserve (overhaul ÷ TBO) | hourly | $2,050/yr | |
| Maintenance reserve | hourly | not counted | |
| Insurance | fixed | $3,500/yr | |
| Annual inspection | fixed | $3,000/yr | |
| Hangar | fixed | $6,000/yr | |
| Rental rate, wet | for comparison |
Not in the totals: Maintenance reserve, Rental rate (for rent vs own). We have no reliable default for these lines; enter your figure to include them.
How these estimates are built. Fuel = this model's typical burn x the national average price from AirNav's Fuel Price Report (100LL $7.41, Jet A $7.66 per gallon, 5 Oct 2026; your airport may differ by $2 or more). Engine reserve = typical overhaul cost / TBO for this engine. The remaining lines are class-level defaults, not quotes for this aircraft: annual inspection is the base inspection fee (findings are counted in the per-hour maintenance line); insurance assumes an instrument-rated owner with time in type and a $1M liability limit - less experienced pilots commonly pay 1.5-2x; hangar and tie-down are national mid-tier figures, with rural and metro options; the rental rate is a 2026 flight-school rate for a comparable aircraft, including fuel. Twin and turboprop maintenance defaults are estimates, not published figures. Sources: AirNav, BWI Aviation Insurance (2019-2026), Flying (May 2026), Savvy Aviation, American Flight Schools, published airport rate sheets. Every default is editable - change any number to match your situation. Depreciation, taxes, financing and major upgrades are not included. Depreciation is not included. An estimate, not a quote.
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $88,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $190,000 |
| 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 | 1,243 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 788 |
| Median year built | 1975.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 31 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 7 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 39.341 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 34.262 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 123 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 15.613 |
| Airworthiness directives | 5 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 1 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 788 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 788 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 788 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 4.6 of 101 |
| Severity | 2.5 of 102 |
| Access | 4.2 of 103 |
| Support | 8.7 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 1.7 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 21.7 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 32.28 · 204 models in class.
- Severity: class median 12.5.
- Access: class median 775.
- Support: class median 148.
- 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. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 6 · scores Sep 30