The Cessna 172 is one of the most manufactured aircraft ever and is considered a well-designed, reliable, and safe aircraft. It was first manufactured in 1956 and has several features that make it a great training plane. Its tricycle-style gear makes it incredibly forgiving to students’ errors during landing. The high-wing design, which improves stability while turning, is another excellent feature that suits novice pilots well. The final thing that defines it is its simplicity and reliability. It is easy to learn by using a cable-driven control system and a set of intuitive flight controls.
The type of landing gear is essential to how the plane will take off and land. The Cessna 172 was originally designed after the Cessna 170 taildragger type airplane. As the name suggests, a taildragger is an airplane that “drags” a tail wheel across the ground for steering purposes. The main downside to this wheel configuration is that it is harder to see out the front and does not start level, but at an angle pitched up and must level off during takeoff on the runway.
The tricycle-style landing gear in the Cessna 172 is much better suited for a beginner because it is configured with two wheels side by side and a third nose wheel forming a triangle with excellent stability.. This configuration keeps the plane level during take-off and also eases landing because all someone has to do is touch down at a slightly upward angle so the nose wheel does not crash into the ground, and the plane lands smoothly. This ease of landing makes it easier for students to learn how to land the aircraft, which is often the most stressful and hard-to-learn part of flying.
The second factor contributing to overall ease of use is the high-wing design. Airplanes can have their wings on the top or bottom of the fuselage. A low-wing aircraft, such as an airliner, has some main advantages over a high-wing plane. It can take advantage of the ground effect when taking off and take advantage of the effect especially when landing. Additionally, its center of gravity, or the point about which it rotates, is balanced above the wing, giving it less roll stability but more maneuverability.
In contrast, a high-winged aircraft’s center of gravity is below the wings, which provides more roll stability. However, as a trade-off, one benefits less from the ground effect and worse maneuverability and climb rate. This high-wing stability for less performance is a worthy trade-off for a student pilot.
The final advantage of the Cessna 172 that makes it such a famous plane is its simple and well-designed system. As with many small aircrafts, the Cessna 172 is powered by a highly reliable six-cylinder four-stroke engine. It also has a well laid out set of instruments that are intuitive to read.
Overall, the Cessna 172 is the most purchased airplane for a reason: its superior ease of use and reliability.