C-172 over 100K

[idahoflier]

"fun to fly" is in the eye of the beholder, I give you that. And the speed will be mission dependent. A "typical" winter flight for me would be MYF - MMH .. no one flies that direct, but for sake of argument if you fly that route direct the time difference is not huge, but not tiny either. Under 2 hrs to a little over 2.5 hrs.

Objectively I don't hate the Skyhawk, part of that is PoA hyperbole. Before Aztec/Cirrus days I would gab a Skyhawk for flights with non pilots (vs the Archer, alone) because they like the cabin better. Fine. But what gets me with the plane is what I feel to be an unfair price vs performance relationship with that plane.. and to that point, I always felt that Mooney's were grossly under priced for the package you get.

With any other plane there's a big range, Bonanzas, etc., can be had for "cheap" or for a lot of money.. but it seems the 172 just parks itself in the pricing stratosphere

I don't disagree with you on the price vs performance angle. It just comes down to supply/demand. The vast majority of active private pilots are boring holes in the sky and rarely fly more than 100-200nm from home. A Skyhawk can easily do that relatively cheaply when viewing all in costs...

 

[idahoflier]

I dislike flying in the 172. Both as pilot or passenger. I find the high wings block a significant amount of my view for other aircraft, I hit me head on the dam wings too many times when pre-flighting (ok, only a couple but it was enough), it is so fricking slow. My hamburger run is an hour in a SR22 doing 169 KTAS at 8K. I do not as a general rule, poke holes in the sky or fly to the airport next door. A plane is meant to go places! And I like to go!

Tim

I hear you! I'm almost an oompa loompa (almost!) so the trailing edge thing isn't really a problem for me, but I can imagine... If distance is your thing, then yeah, a Skyhawk isn't the aircraft for that. That said, I'm only 30 minutes behind you on your hamburger run. Would you meet me at ID74 or U60 for a burger in your SR22 though?

 

[tspear]

I hear you! I'm almost an oompa loompa (almost!) so the trailing edge thing isn't really a problem for me, but I can imagine... If distance is your thing, then yeah, a Skyhawk isn't the aircraft for that. That said, I'm only 30 minutes behind you on your hamburger run. Would you meet me at ID74 or U60 for a burger in your SR22 though?

Maybe the next trip west. I am based outside Boston, but I am in Utah at the moment. Already have a southern route planned to visit friends and family on the way back starting Friday.
In terms 30 minutes, likely longer when you consider coastal winds, which invariably are head winds.

Tim

 

[robicano22]

Is the consensus that ownership costs for a 172 would balance out the inflated premium?

 

[idahoflier]

Is the consensus that ownership costs for a 172 would balance out the inflated premium?

I don't think you would ever get that consensus. I think in general that all aircraft are going up in price. I don't know that C172's are selling for an inflated premium. For instance a similarly aged and equipped C182 will usually be more expensive. PA28's are close to parity with C172's...

And of course there are always outliers. There is an Arrow for sale locally for $49K. It's close to TBO, but even then, $25K will go a long ways towards insurance and maintenance...

 

[idahoflier]

Maybe the next trip west. I am based outside Boston, but I am in Utah at the moment. Already have a southern route planned to visit friends and family on the way back starting Friday.
In terms 30 minutes, likely longer when you consider coastal winds, which invariably are head winds.

Tim

Was just looking at 169 kts vs 110 kts, winds shouldn't matter. Yeah, MA to UT in an SR22 will be a much better experience than a Skyhawk. Have a great trip!

 

[tspear]

Was just looking at 169 kts vs 110 kts, winds shouldn't matter. Yeah, MA to UT in an SR22 will be a much better experience than a Skyhawk. Have a great trip!

I would still think it is fun to fly a 172 across the country, if you ever want too, I am game to join! Just more stops needed. because the fuel capacity of the 172 is larger than my bladder capacity!
Here is why I always include winds. A few weeks ago I flew from 6B6 outside Boston to KGKT outside Knoxville TN. Call it 700nm. For the majority of the flight, I had a 30 knot headwind almost on the nose.
That 110 KTAS would than be 80 KTAS, which means you take roughly a 28% hit to ground speed and would have had almost 8.75 hours of flying time.
Rounding down to 165 KTAS, with that headwind gives 135 KTAS, which is roughly an 18% hit to ground speed and provides for 5.2 hours of flying time (my actual flight time was 6 hours, but I had a fuel/bladder stop).

Tim

 

[EdFred]

So, how large are you that you don’t fit in a Mooney?

6'3 200 Waist isn't the issue. Shoulders go 48 in a jacket and it's tight.

 

[UngaWunga]

Am I the only one who does CC flights in a 172? Sure, I'll take something faster. Want to get my IFR in it first, then I'll look to sell.

 

[Marshall Alexander]

Am I the only one who does CC flights in a 172? Sure, I'll take something faster. Want to get my IFR in it first, then I'll look to sell.

Nope, I do it in ours all the time. And I can take 2 or 3 people with me if I want. If I don't have any passengers, or just one, I'll take my RV9A.

 

[charheep]

Fwiw, I just bought a Cherokee 180 in the low 30's. Newish paint. Needs some radio lovin' but the PA32 below it in the hangar has dual kx155 coming out shortly for a total panel upgrade if I wanted to use those. I can the fly the Six whenever I want, but the 180 is so light on the controls and cheap to fly. It has a Horton STOL kit, since stalls are such a problem in the Cherokee. But it's fun little plane for the 100 dollar hamburger. Plus my sister wants to learn and it's the perfect platform for that. Never been a fan of renting if you can find the right asset and have the means.

I took a look at TAP for PA28 180's and you got a screaming deal. Seems like they are starting at the 50k mark

 

[Racerx]

I took a look at TAP for PA28 180's and you got a screaming deal. Seems like they are starting at the 50k mark

The panel is very basic vfr, no ADS-b and old narco radios. Functional, but....narco. Have dual kx155 coming out of the Cherokee Six shortly and contemplating putting those in or going a little further. Engine time is getting up there but a few hundred until tbo yet. Super honest guy and I was the first caller. Wasn't gonna beat him up on price. He actually sent a check for 100 bucks thinking i miscounted. Told him I had cash and could be there on the weekend. Flew it home a week later. While we were going through it he had 2 other people call. One guy said he had called on 27 different planes. Talk about tire kicker.

 

[TimRF79]

With a title "
C-172 over 100K"
I thought, someone managed some really high flight.
Like rockets or something...
but it was only about dollars and not altitude...

 

[Kenny Phillips]

I think the stupid prices for 172s started well before any current inflationary trend. They've been priced like this for several years.

Yep. Sold mine in 2013, could have gotten 25% more the next year, today 250% more.

 

[dmspilot]

Going back to my econ classes, inflation in prices is primarily supported by inflation in wages. If wages are not going up, then there is a natural cap to the inflation.

That isn't true; there is also no distinction between "inflation in prices" and "inflation in wages", there is just inflation.

I think either you need to ask for a refund for whatever econ class you took, or maybe you are misattributing you saw something on TV to what you learned in class.

You know how bad a job the media does on reporting on aviation topics, right? It's the same with every topic, including economics.

 

[Racerx]

Airplanes, houses, lumber, steel... we've seen steel prices jump 300% since October. And we're having to wait a week or more for things that used to be next day no problem. There's a lot of reasons prices have gone nuts.

 

[Papa Pilot]

if you fly that route direct the time difference is not huge, but not tiny either. Under 2 hrs to a little over 2.5 hrs.

Count me as one of those who don't mind a few extra "tenths" in the PIC column.

 

[Tantalum]

Count me as one of those who don't mind a few extra "tenths" in the PIC column.

I'm with you if alone. There was a time I would pull the Archer back to 2000 RPM..

But now with a plane full of non pilot pax (and sometimes a dog) who enjoy the whole 'we got their fast!' thing I stay at the at the upper end of the poh power charts