Cessna 172

 Cessna 172 Skyhawk

A Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP in flight. Photo: ZLEA, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Make	Cessna
Model	172 Skyhawk
Type	Four-seat, single-engine, high-wing light airplane
Country	United States
First flight	June 12, 1955
Built	1956–1986 and 1996–today
Status	In production (Textron Aviation)
Number built	More than 44,000 (as of 2015)
Registered in the US	18,762 (FAA register, Oct 30, 2026)
Seats	4 (pilot + 3)
Engine	One four-cylinder piston engine, 145–180 hp depending on model
Cruise speed	122 kn (172R)
Range	696 nmi (172R, 55% power, 45-minute reserve)
Service ceiling	13,500 ft (172R)
Max weight	2,450 lb (172R)
Fuel	56 US gal, 52 usable (172R)
Developed from	Cessna 170
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The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is a four-seat, single-engine, high-wing airplane, and more of them have been built than any other aircraft in history. It first flew in 1955, and Cessna and its partners had built more than 44,000 by 2015. It has been used extensively for flight training, and the most common 172 on the U.S. register today is the 1970s-era 172M.

History

The 172 began as a Cessna 170 with a nosewheel. The 170 was a taildragger; in 1955 Cessna fitted a modified 170C with tricycle landing gear, and it flew again on June 12, 1955. To save time and money the new model was first added to the 170's type certificate as the Model 172, and later got a certificate of its own. It sold at once: more than 1,400 were built in 1956, its first full year.

The look settled over the next few years. The 1960 172A brought the swept-back tail still used today, the 1961 172B took the wider instrument panel from the Cessna 175, and the 1963 172D added the "Omni-Vision" rear window. The 1968 172I switched from Continental to Lycoming engines.

Cessna stopped building the 172 in 1986 because of product-liability costs. Production came back in 1996 at a new factory in Independence, Kansas, with the fuel-injected 172R, followed in 1998 by the 180 hp 172S Skyhawk SP. The 172 was also built under license in France by Reims Aviation as the F172.

The Las Vegas endurance record

The record-setting 172, N9172B, on display at the Las Vegas airport. Photo: Daniel Piotrowski, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From December 4, 1958, to February 7, 1959, Robert Timm and John Cook kept a Cessna 172 (N9172B) in the air for 64 days, 22 hours, 19 minutes and 5 seconds, refueling in flight. They took off from and landed at McCarran Field in Las Vegas (now Harry Reid International Airport) and covered an estimated 150,000 miles. The flight raised money for the Damon Runyon Cancer Fund, and the airplane is now on display at the airport.

Models by year

Cessna named its models by model year, like car makers, with new models going on sale a few months before the calendar year. The last column shows how many of each are registered in the U.S. today.

Model	Model years	Engine (when it changed)	Built	Registered in the US (2026)
172	1956–1959	Continental O-300-A, 145 hp	3,757	1,778
172A	1960	Continental O-300-C, 145 hp	994	429
172B	1961	Continental O-300-C (Skyhawk package: O-300-D)	989	407
172C	1962	—	810	361
172D	1963	—	1,011 (+18 Reims F172D)	459
172E	1964	—	1,209 (+67 Reims)	605
172F	1965	—	1,400 (+94 Reims)	709
172G	1966	—	1,474 (+140 Reims)	709
172H	1967	—	1,586 (+435 Reims, 1967–68)	765
172I	1968	Lycoming O-320-E2D, 150 hp	649	350
172K	1969–1970	—	2,055 (+50 Reims)	1,012
172L	1971–1972	—	1,535	840
172M	from 1973	—		3,534
172N Skyhawk/100	from 1977	Lycoming O-320-H2AD, 160 hp (for 100-octane fuel)		3,099
172P	from 1981	Lycoming O-320-D2J		1,100
172Q Cutlass	from 1983	Lycoming O-360-A4N, 180 hp		13
172R Skyhawk	from 1996	Lycoming IO-360-L2A, 160 hp (first fuel-injected 172)		680
172S Skyhawk SP	from 1998	Lycoming IO-360-L2A, 180 hp		1,907

"—" means the source lists no engine change for that model; a blank "Built" cell means the source gives no count. There was never a 172J in production (the design became the Cessna 177) and no 172O, to avoid confusion with zero. Five Reims-built F172s are also on the U.S. register.

Specifications (172R)

Item	172R
Crew and passengers	1 pilot + 3 passengers, 120 lb of baggage
Length / wingspan / height	27 ft 2 in / 36 ft 1 in / 8 ft 11 in
Wing area	174 sq ft
Empty / maximum weight	1,691 lb / 2,450 lb
Fuel	56 US gal (52 usable)
Engine	Lycoming IO-360-L2A, four-cylinder, 160 hp
Propeller	Two-blade fixed-pitch metal McCauley, up to 6 ft 3 in
Cruise speed	122 kn
Stall speed	47 kn (power off, flaps down)
Never-exceed speed	163 kn (indicated)
Range	696 nmi (55% power at 12,000 ft, 45-minute reserve)
Service ceiling	13,500 ft
Rate of climb	721 ft/min

Figures are from Cessna's 172R data as given in the Wikipedia article.

Changes owners make

Many 172s fly with supplemental type certificates (STCs): engines of 180 to 210 hp, constant-speed propellers, approval to burn automotive gasoline, extra fuel tanks, wheel pants and STOL kits.

Owner and mechanic notes: coming soon. What to check before you buy, common problems and what they cost to fix. Airplane Wiki is gathering this from owners and mechanics.

Photos

• 
  A 1956 Cessna 172 at North Las Vegas Airport. Photo: Tomás Del Coro, CC BY-SA 4.0
• 
  Field maintenance on an early 172. Photo: Ahunt, public domain
• 
  A 1977 172N on approach to North Las Vegas. Photo: Noah Wulf, CC BY-SA 4.0
• 
  A 172 on floats. Photo: SDASM Archives, no known restrictions
• 
  A 172P instrument panel. Photo: Kentaro Iemoto, CC BY-SA 2.0
• 
  A 172SP with the Garmin G1000 glass cockpit. Photo: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0
• 
  Three-view drawing. Cessna Aircraft Company, public domain

All photos are from Wikimedia Commons; click a photo for its full credit and license.

Buying a Cessna 172

For sale listings: coming soon. Airplane Wiki will list Cessna 172s for sale here, with the facts on this page beside every listing.