Aircraft model
CESSNA R172E
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The R172E is the military T-41 Mescalero in its civil form: a 172 airframe with a 210 hp fuel-injected Continental and a constant-speed propeller, built for the US Air Force as a screening and primary trainer. Large numbers were declared surplus and sold onto the civil register, which is where most of the fleet is now.
It climbs and carries far better than a standard Skyhawk and cruises about twenty knots faster, which makes it a genuinely useful aeroplane and a popular glider tug and floatplane. Two cautions. First, the Continental IO-360 is not the common Lycoming and has a shorter 1,500-hour recommended overhaul life with a reputation for being fussy. Second, ex-military airframes have institutional histories — high cycles, many hands — so logbook continuity and the paperwork returning them to standard category need careful reading.
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Continental IO-360-D |
| Horsepower | 210 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1968 |
| Production end | 1971 |
| Endorsements required | high-performance |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 131 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 620 nm |
| Service ceiling | 17,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 940 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 42 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,360 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,270 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,010 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 716 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,550 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,540 lb |
| Usable fuel | 49 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 11.8 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $75,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $140,000 |
| 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 | 186 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 98 |
| Median year built | 1967.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 7 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 71.43 per 1,000 active · base 98 active · thin base (low) |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 30.61 per 1,000 active · base 98 active · thin base (low) |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 15 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 15.31 per 100 active · base 98 active · thin base (low) |
| Airworthiness directives | 5 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
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 28.36 · 202 models in class |
| Severity | — · class median 11.65 |
| Access | 4.5 of 10 · class median 767.75 |
| Support | 4.4 of 10 · class median 141.5 |
| Liquidity | 1.7 of 10 · class median 19.57 |