I don’t like the view in the C172, preferring the Pa28. Both flown for scenery viewing in Colorado/Utah area.
But the C172 is the aircraft I’ve continued to fly through the worst weather.
I enjoyed flying a C150 more than a 172.
( Part owner of a Jodel DR1050 wood-and-fabric tailwheel and a Bolkow Junior metal nosewheel aircraft.)
Timothy wrote:
…and she’s back in the air…
Good on her! You go, girl !!
WRT C172 vs PA28: agree with @Aveling. I learned to fly on PA28s but have almost only flown Cessnas in the 20 or so intervening years. Prefer the view and the fact that I don’t have to clamber up on a wing to get into the airplane. There really isn’t much between them. The only thing I really don’t like about the PA28 is that it only has one door.
I fly the Warrior and 172 SP about equally on long cross countries each year. For me, the crucial factor is availability.
While neither of these types are immune to breakdown, the deciding factor is easy availability of spares and support. Breakdowns have been manageable, even if on one occasion I had to seek out a bicycle repair shop for suitable parts. In more remote locations (I’ve seen a few!) It’s comforting to know there’s not much you can’t fix yourself with some string and sealing wax.
Regarding the differences between the two, I love the Cessna’s big wrap around windscreen in the infinitely scenic US, while in Europe the Warrior’s low wing between me and the inevitable cold dark sea instills a (false) feeling of security. I love the Warrior’s huge baggage compartment in Europe where I seem to take tons of stuff and the low wing while refuellers sit idly by watching me wrench the hoses around on my own. In the US, where the refueling truck pulls up even before the propeller stops turning, I love watching them manhandle the stepladders while I head for the cafe.
Performance? Not a whisker between them, and I’m there to look out of the window and gaze in wonder at the spectacle of this planet we live on. 100kts is fine with me, and I have the photos to prove it. Admittedly this last week’s stonking headwinds and 70Kt all the way from Finland became a little tiresome…
I fly a lot of different types and I agree that the differences don’t lie between manufacturers, but between models. Between Piper and Cessna there are fairly miserable models and very good ones. Even within models the same is true (for example, I love all the Arrows except the IV which is horrible.)
But for good light tourers, I would generally look away from both. The AA5B and the bigger faster Robins both knock their Piper and Cessna equivalents into cocked hats.
After 200-something hours I finally flew my first PA28 (yesterday). I put a little more than 4 hours on it.
First impressions after basically only flying Cessnas for the last 4 years:
The rest is pretty similar to the Cessnas. There is not much different. A nice aircraft to fly.
Flying with wheel spats/pants, a flat tyre on landing is a possibility, with the wheel jamming.
A number of light aircraft at Inverness suffered punctures a few years ago due to the magnetic wire pick-up machine missing a spot used only by light aircraft, after the wire brush machine had done a winter clearing run.
Fortunately none had a slow deflation after take-off. We weren’t affected.
There’s a video of an RV in Australia smashing it’s lightly-built spat on go-around with a flat tire. The Jodel spats are more solid, as are the Piper and Cessna ones.
And no preflight or pre-land check could detect it.
I suspect a lot of events where somebody broke something off a PA28 don’t get posted on forums especially with a video 
Schools in particular do not like these to be openly discussed. Even within the school the staff are encouraged to use the term “gone tech” when somebody broke a plane which cannot be used for lessons. I saw this all the time when I was doing my PPL.
The bigger lesson here is probably that one should not rush to make decisions, all the time one has fuel. I know someone who totalled a PA28, which had an apparent gear problem, and the pilot just landed it right away, and found the gear was indeed up… There were IIRC four POB, mostly PPLs, yet i still happened. One guy killed himself by crashing a TB10 whose luggage door was open. These things happen all the time.
Timothy wrote:
You’d be surprised at the number of people who declare urgency or distress and go straight back, without any real thought of options.
Within reason I would be of the school of going straight back. I think I know exactly what you mean and there are a lot of problems that can be worked through and they always should. However, I also think there are times having worked though the problem, being on the ground is very attractive. For example, you can do so much to diagnose a rough running engine, but if it continues to run roughly I would rather the engineers take a look than hope it keeps running.
I guess that many instructors, including myself, are suprised that this is not happening more often since these airplanes go through A LOT of shitty landings. I am often amazed at how solid they are. ;)
