Cessna 172

What you will learn

Fly the Cessna 172S Skyhawk, the flight-school trainer with more than 45,000 delivered: the cockpit, preflight and fuel, start, taxi and run-up, takeoff, the circuit and landing, cruise and leaning, the handbook's performance charts and weight and balance, and the emergencies.

Who this course is for

• Student pilots who train on a Cessna 172
• Licensed pilots checking out on the type
• Pilots coming from other aircraft types
• Flight-sim pilots who fly the 172

Course content

8 video lections · 22 videos · 51 min

1. 1

   Meet the 172

   3 videos · 7 min

   The Skyhawk and its variants, the six-pack cockpit, and what changes with the G1000.

   • Meet the Skyhawk Free

     What the Cessna 172 Skyhawk is, why flight schools and simulators pick it, and why the letter after 172 matters. Then the three handbook numbers every 172 pilot knows: 2,550 lb, 53 US gal and 163 KIAS.

     2:27

   • The six-pack cockpit

     A calm tour of the round-dial 172S panel, one area at a time: the six-pack and the basic T, the engine gauges and warning lights, the switches, and the controls for power, flaps, trim and fuel.

     2:24

   • What changes with the G1000

     The same 172S behind glass: the PFD and MFD, the engine strip, the tapes that change your scan, and the backups (standby instruments, standby battery, reversionary mode) for when something fails.

     2:19
2. 2

   Preflight and fuel

   2 videos · 4 min

   Around the high-wing Cessna 172 on the ramp: the walk-around in the handbook's order, and the fuel system from the wing tanks to the engine.

   • The walk-around

     The preflight inspection of the 172S in the handbook's order: cabin, tail, right wing, nose and left wing. What to check at each of the eight stops, and how to test the stall warning.

     2:08

   • The fuel system

     How fuel gets from the two wing tanks to the injected engine of the 172S: vents, selector, auxiliary and engine-driven pumps. How to sample it, and what to do when you find water.

     2:11
3. 3

   Start, taxi and run-up

   2 videos · 5 min

   The high-wing Cessna 172 on the ground: starting its injected engine, taxiing with wind, and the run-up before takeoff.

   • Starting the engine

     Starting the fuel-injected 172S from the handbook: before-start checks, priming with the auxiliary pump, the key, and oil pressure within 30 seconds. Plus the hot start and the flooded start.

     2:15

   • Taxi and run-up

     Steer the 172 on the ground with the rudder pedals and toe brakes, and hold the control wheel the way the handbook shows for wind from ahead or behind. Then the run-up at 1,800 RPM: the magneto check, the gauges and the checklist around it.

     2:18
4. 4

   Takeoff and climb

   2 videos · 5 min

   The high-wing Cessna 172 leaving the runway: normal, short-field and soft-field takeoffs, and its climb speeds.

   • The takeoff

     The 172S takeoff as the handbook flies it: check the engine early in the roll, lift the nose wheel at 55 KIAS and climb at 70 to 80 KIAS, then flaps up. Then the short field with flaps 10° and 56 KIAS to 50 ft, and the soft field.

     2:21

   • Climb speeds

     Best angle and best rate of climb in the 172S, Vx 62 and Vy 74 KIAS at sea level, and how both change with height up to the ceilings. Then the everyday climb at 75 to 85 KIAS and the mixture in the climb.

     2:18
5. 5

   Circuit and landing

   3 videos · 6 min

   Flaps, the approach and landing, the go-around, and crosswind.

   • Flaps and their speeds

     What the 172's flaps do and when you may use them: up to 10° for takeoff, up to 30° for landing. The white arc, the flap speeds of 110 and 85 kt, and how to set the flaps in steps around the circuit.

     2:14

   • Approach, landing and go-around

     The 172's approach speeds from the handbook, with and without flaps, and the short-field approach at 61 kt. Then the flare, the touchdown on the main wheels, and the go-around: full power, flaps 20°, 60 kt.

     2:07

   • Crosswind

     What the 172's maximum demonstrated crosswind of 15 kt means, and why it is not a limit. The crab and wing-low methods on final, the handbook's flap notes, and the controls once the wheels are down.

     2:06
6. 6

   Cruise, power and fuel

   3 videos · 7 min

   The high-wing Cessna 172 in cruise: power settings, leaning the mixture, and planning the fuel.

   • Cruise power

     How to read the 172S cruise table: RPM, percent power, true airspeed and fuel flow, with real rows at 6,000 ft. Why a quarter more speed costs almost 50 % more fuel, and how far one gallon takes you.

     2:29

   • Leaning the mixture

     Why the mixture is leaned as the air thins, and the 172S handbook procedure with the exhaust gas temperature gauge: find the peak, then set recommended lean 50 °F rich of it. Plus the mixture from taxi to landing.

     2:11

   • Fuel planning

     How far and how long a full 172S goes, the four parts of every fuel plan from start to reserve, and the handbook's own worked example, step by step with its sums.

     2:33
7. 7

   Performance and weight and balance

   3 videos · 8 min

   The Cessna 172 handbook's takeoff and landing charts, and loading the high-wing four-seater with its graph and centre-of-gravity envelope.

   • The takeoff distance chart

     How to read the 172S short-field takeoff table: what it assumes, the ground roll and the distance over a 50 ft obstacle, and the corrections for wind and grass. Worked through with the handbook's own example.

     2:34

   • The landing distance chart

     How to read the 172S short-field landing table: its conditions, the distance from 50 ft to a full stop and the ground roll. Corrections for wind, grass and flaps up, worked through with the handbook's own example.

     2:31

   • Weight and balance

     Loading the 172S within its limits: the normal and utility categories, the baggage areas, arms and moments. Worked through the handbook's sample loading to a point on the centre of gravity envelope.

     2:35
8. 8

   Emergencies

   4 videos · 9 min

   Engine failure after takeoff and in flight, fire, electrical failure, and stalls and spins in the 172.

   • Engine failure

     What the 172S handbook says to do when the engine stops: on the takeoff run, just after takeoff and in flight. With the 70 and 65 kt glide after takeoff, the 68 kt best glide, the maximum glide chart and the restart checks.

     2:15

   • Fire

     The fire checklists of the 172S handbook in its order: a fire during engine start, an engine fire in flight, an electrical fire and a cabin fire. Plus how to check and use the cabin extinguisher.

     2:23

   • Electrical failure

     How the 172S's 28-volt system works, and how the ammeter and the VOLTS light show an alternator failure. The handbook's reset-then-save-power checklist, and what keeps running with no electrics at all.

     2:18

   • Stalls and spins in the 172

     The 172S stall speeds from the handbook's table, wings level and banked, and its air-driven stall warning horn. Where intentional spins are approved, and the handbook's five-step spin recovery.

     2:24