C172RG - worth a checkout?

[Colonel]

A friend of mine was trying to get insurance for
his cabin-class twin that he bought.  His first
twin.

Insurance broker gave him credit for 400 hours of
RG time in a Challenger ultralight on floats ... with
retractable gear!

I shrugged my shoulders.  Who knew?  Insurance
was dirt cheap for him.  I hammered on him mercilessly
about [b]REMEMBERING TO LOWER THE FUCKING GEAR[/b].

Oddly, insurance companies love me.  I guess 40 years
of accident-free flying is good for something.

[img width=500 height=352][/img]

The important things are always simple.

The simple things are always hard.

[Colonel]

[quote]I dont remember the 172RG offering any performance advantages over a regular 172[/quote]

Getting rid of the gear drag is not as significant
as you might think, because the 172 doesn't go
very fast, and it's spring gear isn't actually that
draggy.  Columbia and Cirrus are fixed gear, after
all, and they're a lot faster than a 172.

Retractable gear weighs more - which slows you
down - costs more, and is not as reliable, and
costs a lot more to maintain.

Maybe on a 177 or 210 that doesn't have the drag
of struts, RG might make more sense.  I dunno.

I'd rather have a turbo-normalized 185 with a 530
and a kevlar O2 tank, but I was dropped on my
head as a small child.

[Chuck Ellsworth]

I always wanted a Harrier so I could drive everyone crazy landing and taking offin my back yard.


I remember three of them hovering on the beach in Belize many years ago and since then that is what I want.

[vanNostrum]

                            C 172                                                                              C 172 RG

SPEED
Max at SL          123 KNOTS                                                                  145 KNOTS
CRUISE
75%  8000'        120 KNOTS                                                75% 9000'  140 KNOTS

RATE OF CLIMB SL
                              700FPM                                                                    800FPM

USEFUL LOAD 
                              980 LBS                                                                      1100 LBS

TAKEOFF PERFORMANCE

GR ROLL                890FT                                                                        1060FT
50 FT OBSTACLE
                                1625FT                                                                      1775FT                                                             
                                                                                                                   
LANDING PERFORMANCE
GR ROLL                540FT                                                                        625FT
50 FT OBSTACLE  1280FT                                                                    1340FT           

[Colonel]

It's funny how your tastes change as you age.

Who says you can't have fun with a fixed gear Cessna?

[img width=500 height=337][/img]

[Colonel]

PS  If you put a better engine and c/s prop into
a fixed-gear 172, the numbers improve:

[quote]1978 Hawk XP performance & specifications

SPEED:
    Maximum at Sea Level                133 knots      246 kph
    Cruise, 80% Power at 6000 Ft        130 knots      241 kph

CRUISE:
    Recommended lean mixture with fuel
    allowance for engine start, taxi, takeoff,
    climb and 45 minutes reserve at 45% power
    80% Power at 6000 Ft with          480 nm        889 km
    49 Gallons Usable Fuel              3.7 hr        3.7 hr
    Maximum Range at 10,000 Ft          575 nm        1065 km
    with 49 Gallons Usable Fuel        6.1 hr        6.1 hr

RATE OF CLIMB AT SEA LEVEL              870 fpm        265 mpm
SERVICE CEILING                      17,000 ft        5182 m
TAKEOFF PERFORMANCE:
    Ground Roll                        800 ft        244 m
    Total Distance Over 50-Ft Obstacle 1360 ft        415 m

LANDING PERFORMANCE:
    Ground Roll                        620 ft        189 m
    Total Distance Over 50-Ft Obstacle 1270 ft        387 m

STALL SPEED, (CAS):
    Flaps Up, Power Off                53 knots        98 kph
    Flaps Down, Power Off              46 knots        85 kph

MAXIMUM WEIGHT                        2550 lb        1157 kg

STANDARD EMPTY WEIGHT:
    Hawk XP                          1531 lb          695 kg
    Hawk XP II                        1557 lb          706 kg

MAXIMUM USEFUL LOAD:
    Hawk XP                          1019 lb          462 kg
    Hawk XP II                        993 lb          451 kg

BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE                      200 lb          91 kg
WING LOADING                          14.7 lb/sq ft  71.6 kg/sq m
POWER LOADING                        13.1 lb/hp      5.9 kb/hp
WING SPAN                            35 ft, 10 in  10.92 m
WING AREA                              174 sq ft    16.16 sq m
LENGTH                                27 ft, 2 in    8.28 m
HEIGHT                                8 ft, 9.5 in  2.68 m
FUEL CAPACITY: Total                    52 gal        197 liters
OIL CAPACITY                            8 qt          7.6 liters

ENGINE: Teledyne-Continental IO-360-K Fuel
Injection Engine; 195 BHP at 2600 RPM

PROPELLER: Constant Speed,
76 In Diameter(l.93 m)[/quote]

If you drive a 3/8ths wrench, you can up the RPM to 2800
and 210hp and improve it some more.

[Rookie Pilot]

[quote author=Chris link=topic=5379.msg13930#msg13930 date=1484533298]
From an insurance perspective, would there be any value in someone looking into buying an RG airplane to first rack up a handful of hours in a Cutlass? Not my situation, I'm just curious.
[/quote]


Yes, which is why I did it, then stepping into the considerably more powerful 182 RG was also a non event. Biggest change was a lot more left turn tendency on TO.


Realistically, a fixed gear 172 is a 110-115 knot AC.  A cutlass is 125, 130 if bugs are all off Ect.. 145? Not happening. But it seems better. It's more a CS prop and gear routine become second nature, transitioning easier to larger AC, without getting in too much trouble -- it's not fast enough for that.