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Cessna 172RG Cutlass

https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/article/cessna-cutlass-rg/#.Wr9c-FrTWhA

Must confess have never flow in a ‘dog’ aircraft, and in the case of the Cessna L-19/O-1 Bird Dog this is a compliment (the L-19 is the military observer used in Vietnam).

Have fond memories of renting a 172RG out of Danbury CT over a quarter century ago. Very reliable, nice handling with an impressive useful load and around 6 hours endurance if you are that way inclined. KTAS135 on 9 gph, so around 5 to 10 knots slower than a 177RG, and around 1 gph less.

It flies just like a 172, but with a 180hp engine and constant speed propeller. Utilitarian looking with no vices, not a dog in either the performance or utility stakes.

They are good value in the second hand market, perhaps because of the lack of sex appeal.

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

I tend to agree. I did my Commercial in one (88$/h!) and later did a bit of cross country flying in it, and I thought it was an OK all around airplane. 125 knots, 9.5GPH, good range, good useful load.

Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

RobertL18C wrote:

They are good value in the second hand market, perhaps because of the lack of sex appeal.

Actually, I’ve found quite the contrary. It seems the 172RG was highly sought after by schools for complex trainers, thus driving the market prices up.

Most now are very high time and of course that has the opposite effect.

BTW: It’s nickname is “Gutless”, rimes with Cutlass

Last Edited by Michael at 31 Mar 10:45
FAA A&P/IA
LFPN

“Have fond memories of renting a 172RG out of Danbury CT over a quarter century ago. Very reliable, nice handling with an impressive useful load and around 6 hours endurance if you are that way inclined. KTAS135 on 9 gph, so around 5 to 10 knots slower than a 177RG, and around 1 gph less”

I for one have never had a chance to fly Cutlass, but mainly due to the known handling characteristics I think it is for sure the better choice for CPL training.
Also it is a reliable, economic and fine aircraft to own, as nearly all Cessnas are.

However, when new it was unfortunately a step back for Cessna from a design point of view.
At the time it was undoubtedly all about: “back to what our customers are familiar with and let’s not be too radical and take a risk”.

Though commercially and financially it was a good success for Cessna!

-Financially this can’t be said for every one of their designs…

Flew the RG with a 3 blade McCauley prob and somehow never could get comfortable with that thing. Engine sounded like it wanted to quit constantly and the 3 blade prop just felt heavy without adding any performance. But this was a flight school rental, so could have just been tired.

Brilliant aeroplane off tarmac. Would get your attention on grass though. The small wheels really dig in unless the strip is bone dry. There were two strips which would have been a breeze in a 172M with 150hp, and they really caught me out in the 172RG I used to operate.

The aeroplane is very stable and efficient. I did enjoy flying it.

Buying, Selling, Flying
EISG, Ireland

I have a couple of hundred hours in the 172RG and really like them. Took them all over Spain, Portugal and North Africa, nice traveling machine, if a bit slow. That said, I’ve also flown the one Adam is referring to, and that one really is a dog. I suspect that in this particular case the engine / 3-blade prop combo just doesn’t work. All the others I’ve flown had the 2-blade prop.

My club has 2 C172RG for IFR training. They have an Aspen, GTN650, DME and ADF. No AP.
They look pretty workload-intensive to me for IFR training, especially in here where IMC is not rare. I am a bit worried to forget the gear on a IAP
Then, I guess if I can learn on it, I can fly IFR in any SEP.

What do you think of this model for IR training ?

LFOU, France

Jujupilote wrote:

They look pretty workload-intensive to me for IFR training […] I am a bit worried to forget the gear on a IAP
I am doing the CB-IR on an Arrow II. Similar setup except a few extra horses upfront, vacuum gyros, a good old non-waas 430 and no A/P either. I believe the workload is part of the training, so students get used to the flow and train to use the damn checklist.

ESMK, Sweden
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