C172 first impressions.
I had the opportunity today to fly a C172 for the first time (with an instructor). For the last 4 years I've been flying an Archer III, but having completed my PPL on a C152 I was expecting it to be fairly familiar, but I was wrong. This Cessna was very new (less than 6 months old) so everything worked as it should and up until now I've considered hiring the 172 as it's a bit cheaper.
Firstly, I found the rudder pedals weren't deep enough into the foot wells. I had to sit so far back that it felt as though the instrument panel was almost out of my reach.
Next surprise was the flight controls... very odd! During the flight control check on the ground, it felt as though the yoke was rigged with springs for some kind of force feedback. This was very apparent in the final approach and flare, it just felt as though there was no feeling in pitch or roll. It was almost like flying an instrument trainer.
Next the flaps! My goodness, I had to apply a huge amount of power to maintain the approach speed. Even with flaps 20, trying to climb after a go-around was a real slog!
And then there's the nose-wheel steering, horrible! It was so mushy and unresponsive, I was all over the taxiway. I don't ever remember the 152 being that hard to taxi.
But it's not all bad. Having two doors makes life much easier, and the view down from a high wing is certainly very unique.
I'd be interested to know what other people think of the 172. Especially if you were previously a Piper driver.