bought the plane today

houstondan wrote:
my first airplane. cessna 172C.

Congratulations, that's a great plane. Some friends of mine have one
in a two-way partnership, I tried to buy in with them but they were
happy with their partnership the way it was and didn't want to take on
a third. So I am jealous of you.

why a 172-c?? well, a couple of reasons. mechanical flaps (you pull a
rod that's laying on the floor)

Yup, that's definitely a big plus.

and the 6 cylinder engine which,
although it is 5-15 hp light of later models, is smooth music compared
to the banging of the 4s.

Yes, that engine is sweet and you won't miss the missing hp. (You
might regret the extra cylinders at OH time though). The engine may be
less powerful than a modern 172, but the plane is also lighter. I flew
a 172C loaded just about to gross on a warm day out of a 2100 foot
elevation airport and I thought the climb up to 7500 was kinda slow.
Then a couple of months later I flew out of the same airport in a 160hp
Warrior that was more lightly loaded, and its climb was nearly
identical.

I did a lot of research on this engine and one thing I learned was that
it definitely is much happier on mogas (assuming you can get good clean
mogas for it) so you should make an effort there.

it is slow by most standards but i think i see
15/mpg which ain't that bad considering the advantage you get over cars
on "direct route". i'm retired; i've got lots of time.

When it's your own plane you aren't paying an hourly rental, so an
extra 30-45 minutes on a flight doesn't bother you as much. IMO.

i can see that i'm going to be needing a lot of money for gas.

The 172C that I flew and tried to buy into had a fuel flow meter, and
we were getting about 7 gph in leaned cruise. Ok, so it's kinda slow
(I think 100kts) but like you said, reasonably efficient.

Enjoy your bird!

houstondan wrote:

my first airplane. cessna 172C.
snip

Here's to many enjoyable and pleasantly memorable experiences in your "new"
airplane.

--
Peter

You'll find you fly your own airplane differently. Go clean & spiff it
up now (that doesn't take any gas money).

Add an EGT if it doesn't have one. Personally I also like having
manifold pressure for setting and cross checking power even if it is a
fixed pitch prop.

Congratulations!

Go clean & spiff it up now (that doesn't take any gas money).

Yeah, but it sure takes a heck of a long time! ;-)

We went up last weekend and washed the 172 and let the kids ride their
bikes around the airport. It took 4 hours just to wash it, and I was
too tired to try and wax it this time, or to do any of the finer detail
cleaning things I would have liked to have done. But... regardless of
what an @$$ kicker it can be to wash and wax a plane, it feels great
being there, cleaning your bird, and watching people flying in and out
of the airport, and watching your kids having the time of their lives
on all of that open pavement where the planes are tied down!

I think a MasterCard "priceless" commercial can easily be made out of
the adventure!

Best Regards,
Todd

Originally Posted by houstondan

my first airplane. cessna 172C.


i can see that i'm going to be needing a lot of money for gas.

dan

Congrats, Dan. I bought my first power plane in January and still get a kick out of tooling around in the afternoon after work just watching the sun go down. 172s aren't the sexiest of birds, but I learned to fly in one and still think they are a great value and a very reliable choice for a purely recreational bird.

Enjoy and be sure to share some stories with us.

V7

"houstondan" wrote in message ups.com...
my first airplane. cessna 172C.

this group, along with a couple of others, has given me the best
information as i've progressed. by way of payback, i intend to tell
some about the process i went thru for the benefit of others who may be
planning; hoping.

why a 172-c?? well, a couple of reasons. mechanical flaps (you pull a
rod that's laying on the floor) and the 6 cylinder engine which,
although it is 5-15 hp light of later models, is smooth music compared
to the banging of the 4s. any airport in america has mechanics and
parts to fix a 172. it is slow by most standards but i think i see
15/mpg which ain't that bad considering the advantage you get over cars
on "direct route". i'm retired; i've got lots of time.

i paid 34k$ and wells fargo financed me at 7.75 for 15 years. makes it
managable. very friendly people. i like them.

i joined aopa and subscribed to trade-a-plane and g.a. news. haunted
the web for any and all information i could find on airplanes including
the new light sport stuff.

every evening, or something close to that, i would read the adds in
trade a plane and e-bay and whatever i could find untill i had a good
working understanding of the issues around aircraft purchase and
ownership. i have not been flying much lately because i knew i would
need the money to buy - not rent.

when the plane showed-up at my local airport, i expressed interest and
had the owner agree to a full inspection by my mechanic. that uncovered
an exhaust valve problem. he fixed it and we closed today. yipee!! i
now own a plane. had my mechanic not examined the plane then i would be
looking at a grand in engine fix already. now, at least, i've got all 6
doing well north of 70lbs.

i''ll be joining the cessna pilots assn. shortly. thanks y'all who
advised there. hooks airport is renting t-hangers at 250/month and i'll
be getting one tomorrow. i really like having a tin box for my bird.
anyway, that's my experience so for. hope it helps.

i can see that i'm going to be needing a lot of money for gas.

dan


I'm about to get a half of a '60 172A. Same feelings...

"ktbr" wrote in message ...
Guy Byars wrote:
i can see that i'm going to be needing a lot of money for gas.


Congratulations. You ought to look into an Auto Gas STC for your plane.

Gauy


The thing I don't like about autogas is that it goes rancid
so easily and quickly. Unless you fly alot and often it may
not be so good to use it.

Runs like a champ in the 172A 0-300

i can see that i'm going to be needing a lot of money for gas.

Good job, Dan!

Welcome to the land of the eternally -- and willfully -- impoverished.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

I believe the recent switch from MTBE to ethanol in areas mandated to
use oxygenated gasoline will make ethanol free gasoline more available
for the rest of the country, because ethanol supply is very stretched
and the ethanol price is inflated. Right now the *wholesale* ethanol
price is $2.77/gal, about 50c higher than the gasoline. The oil
company is not going to add ethanol to gasoline in areas where it's not
absolutely mandated. Keep in mind that ethanol can't be blended into
gasoline at the refinary and transported in pipelines. It must be
transported separated and blended at a terminal facility.

I try and keep a 50/50 mix of av/auto gas in my Skylane. More avgas in the
winter, more autogas in the summer.


"ktbr" wrote in message
...
Guy Byars wrote:
i can see that i'm going to be needing a lot of money for gas.


Congratulations. You ought to look into an Auto Gas STC for your plane.

Gauy


The thing I don't like about autogas is that it goes rancid
so easily and quickly. Unless you fly alot and often it may
not be so good to use it.