I thought I’d post on here because the Cessna community relative to forums kinda sucks.

I recently purchased a 172XP to go along with our TN’d Bonanza and Cessna 150.

The 150 was purchased as a trainer for our kids. Two of our sons and one son-in-law have gotten the aviation bug from the 150. Our youngest now has nearly 400 hours flying in the 150 and I thought a more powerful platform that was still of the Cessna line would be a nice transition for him and the other two.

I did a lot of research and decided that the 172XP would be a good step-up as it is a high-performance (with the Isham STC) 210-hp airplane with mostly otherwise 172 characteristics. A little heavier on the nose than a regular 172, more torque requiring the rudder trim, and a blue knob that other 172s don’t have. It will allow our kids (with their growing families) the option of flying rather than driving places at better performance (particularly in the climb) than a 180-hp 172 and a lower operating cost than a 182.

So far, I’ve been thrilled with the airplane. It checks all the boxes I was interested in. But, I am only a novice flying it and would like some feedback from those of you who have experience with it. Particularly, what have been your performance parameters (i.e. best cruise altitude, best power settings in cruise, lean of peak settings, etc.) and what are the do’s and don’t’s that you’ve learned from flying it.

The plane didn’t have GAMI’s installed but I’ve got them on the way.

Thank you for your feedback.

Great model

Intake on the top deck

I have the patterns for baffle seals and door / window

The shop is located in Modesto California

Pacific Aircraft and the owner has the opportunity to own and go through the aircraft.

Shane is his name

Class act wrench and shop

GB

There is such a thing as making things too complicated. It’s still a 172. Performance settings? WOT, 2500, ROP. Whatever changes you make to optimize things from there will make such a small difference to be negligible. It doesn’t exactly have a lot of performance to play with.

Can’t really do much wrong. A 182 would be a better choice. It’s not really more to run but a much better XC plane. Acquisition costs may be higher.

I flew 5 or 10 hours in a 172XP right after I got my PPL in a C150. Seemed like a super performer and a big aircraft to me! At the time…

There really wasn’t a need for a middle choice between a 172 and a 182, and if there were a 4 cylinder IO-360 would have been a better engine, as Cessna decided in 1996 when they restarted the production line. Like Piper did with the Archer. The 172XP has you maintaining 6 cylinders and a constant speed prop, more like a 182.

But now that the fleet exists, and 182’s are so expensive, seems like a good choice with value and performance for the dollar. It’s 182 performance with a smaller cabin.

Check the engine mount tubes carefully for pitting that has been painted over near the exhaust.
We have had a couple that had to have the tubes replaced over the years. One someone had sanded and layered a lot of paint over the pitting to hide it. It peeled eventually and showed the damage.

Also look into the McFarlane flap roller mod to add machined washers on each side of the flap rollers. It prevents the rollers from chewing into the flap ribs.

Watch for wear on the brake lines under the gear leg fairings. Keep good bushings and shimmy damper parts in the nose strut. Stock shimmy damper works fine if kept in good shape. The solid LORD assemblies did not seem to work well in the cold. Especially if pants are installed. I have tried the new McFarlane damper but it shimmied worse than the originals with pants.

Check the lower cabin doors are not contacting and wearing the wing struts. Also put chafe tape around the struts where the inner and outer plastic fairings contact the strut.

Like any Cessna remove the interior and remove all the black CAT hose and replace with orange silicone SCAT. While your in there remove the headliner and check the condition of all the overhead fuel vent hoses and interconnects. They are often bad. Also it's a good time to check for corrosion overhead on the skins and carry thru structure.

Propeller parts might be getting a bit scarce.

Clean and treat any corrosion on the inside of the cowling. Also blow ACF-50 up in the vertical fin. We are finding those quite corroded on all Cessnas.

Don't push down on the horizontal tail to move the nose around. We have found several with cracked forward stabilizer spars out of the lightening hole in the center forward spar.

Watch for play in the elevator pushrod bolt just below the fuel selector.

I like the 172 seats better than the laid back 182 seat backs and the lighter simpler control yoke system. The XP engine has a couple oddities but it seems to work out. The STC for RPM increase helps performance also.

If you don't need the 182 width it's a good one to have. Usually the XPs were not beat to death in a school or commercial use. For many years they seemed to all have original paint/interior with high time engines and were avionics museums but hopefully that is changing.

There are comments. And then there are helpful comments. Nice work Charlie!

Wow! Thanks a lot! I was fortunate to get a very low-time 3-owner plane. It has never been used in a flight school. I have already noticed the need to install the McFarlane washers because the plane doesn’t have them. Will print out your list and work through your other recommendations.

Use double sceet

Not single wall scat

We mfg with 2" finished ends with correct clamps

There is a difference, bend radius of single wall

3/4 to 5.50 ducts

Iam doing some DH2 ducts now

5.50 x 3.50

Door seal and window seal is stock based on original design not automotive aftermarket type

Guy I like the tighter bend radius of those. How rigid are the molded ends? Are they able to conform to an oval shaped plastic duct like on the XP or 172 lower cabin vents at the door posts.

Molded ends are soft

2" to 4" cuffs per your request

Bend radius like scat

Smooth internal

I did design 4"cuff for the oblong on the C303 floor ducts / not a round connection

It's important to install a adel to engine mount to another adel to act as a stand off to eliminate chafe of duct to engine mount .

Wrap cables with cloth tape rap and secure ends with Thomas / Betts tyrap with metal tooth


Iam starting a complete for a C182

Hoses
Ducts
Seals
Gaskets

Sceet is smooth even on the bends

I can only suggest ms21919wch adel

Actually, its lineage is the Cessna 175. Below is the Type Certificate Data Sheet list of models in TC 3A17. The model R172K is the 172XP.

An interesting thread about the one-off R172J: https://eaaforums.org/showthread.php?20 ... tery-plane

Sure, sure. You can join the conversation using facts if you want, but that’s not how things are normally done here on BT.

We used one at my flight school when they were brought out by Cessna. My CFI's pointed out that for the meager increase in performance, the "XP" just meant "Extra Price".
YMMV

Probably have not tried https://www.cessna-pilots.net/

CPS is a great bunch of folks, lots of great pilots and mechanics focusing on Cessna only.

A friend had a pristine 172RG. It flew right along side my 182 on a lot less fuel burn. Of course the difference was cabin size and load.