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Learn to fly in a C152 or C172?

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Learn to fly in a C152 or C172?

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Old 25th Feb 2009, 04:55
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Learn to fly in a C152 or C172?

Hey Guys,

I'm just starting to learn to fly. I have got two choices of aircraft to learn to fly in.

A C152 at $223AUD an hour Dual
Or a C172 at $243AUD an hour Dual

Just wondering what one I should take? Does it really make a difference?

Cheers,

Logan
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Old 25th Feb 2009, 06:24
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Good morning!

If I were you, I would aim at doing 3/4 of your training on the 152 and 1/4 on the 172. They are very similar to fly, but the 152 is lighter and less stable, so that you must "work harder" to keep it straight and level which is better for developing flying skills. The 172 time is useful too, because it belongs to the category of aeroplanes that most pilots are going to fly once they gain their license.

Greetings, Max
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Old 25th Feb 2009, 06:30
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Personally I would start in a 152. Great for really getting the 'feel' and control of an airplane. Very good for your initial confidence and slightly cheaper. Once you get to cross country, I would then transfer to the 172. Adds experience, larger cabin/seat area which is helpfull for maps etc. Slightly more stable also, again helping with the cross country flying.

The extra cost is also pretty well made up due the extra 10 knots or so of speed over the longer distances you will be flying.

Just my opinion. Either way, enjoy it and good luck
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Old 25th Feb 2009, 06:48
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C150 or C172

Take whichever you feel most comfortable in, it will depend mainly on your size. I'm over 6ft and the 150 is a little cramped but I'd still choose it over the 172, I love those things!!
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Old 25th Feb 2009, 06:48
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Thanks guys, I appreciate the input. I had a Trial Flight about 3 weeks ago, in a 172 and I felt really sick. Is this normal? It was quite windy as when we rotated we were quite quickly blown to the left and had to recover.

Just wondering if thats normal, and any ways of trying to help with it, as I have always wanted to be a pilot?
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Old 25th Feb 2009, 07:36
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It is normal for students to feel sick for the first few lessons so stick with it.

As you get used to things that should stop. C152 is lots of fun and great for primary training so enjoy !
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Old 25th Feb 2009, 10:32
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Logan,

As was said above, if you and the instructor fit in the 152 it's a great trainer. I had a few students, we just couldn't fit comfortably in the 152 and there were some weight issues. The 172 is going to cost you a bit over 1000 extra when it's all said and done, don't know if that matters to you. And I don't recall if you guys down under have an endorsement for each model of aircraft or if the 152 and 172 are considered one type. You'll probably want to upgrade after you finish your training to give your friends some rides.

As to feeling ill, doing the intro flight on a breezy day isn't the best idea - remember that when you take your friends up. Think about it, humans have spent tens of thousands of years walking on the earth at 4kph. Now you go zipping along a couple thousand feet up at 100 kts. No matter how geeked the higher brain is about learning to fly, most of the brain is saying "This isn't right, this isn't right." And even the frontal lobes are in overload. Give it a couple flights to evolve.
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Old 25th Feb 2009, 10:37
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Thanks guys. My only worry is that if I'm feeling sick it is hard to concentrate on what is being taught to me. I guess I'll just have to try and work through that.

Also I won a ride in a PC-9 with the RAAF Roulettes. I just call the FLTLT when I want to go up and I give him two days notice. I wonder if I should wait until I have done a couple lessons first, or go for the flight first. Any ideas?
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Old 25th Feb 2009, 13:19
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+1 on the 152 as a trainer. When I was learning back in the mid 60's I weighed about 180 and my instructor about 200. Tell you what, on a hot day I sometimes wasn't sure if that airplane was going to get off the ground.

One of the reasons it is a good trainer is that you are really a part of the aircraft. You feel everything and everything you do provides an instant reaction. I had friends who learned on a P-140 and I felt I was a much safer pilot because the 140 was just so easy to fly.

When I got my ticket they gave me a free check ride in a 172. When it jumped off the runway instead of dragging, I was hooked.
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Old 26th Feb 2009, 17:37
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Quote "152 is lighter and less stable, so that you must "work harder" to keep it straight and level"

give me a break, the 152 is the only A/C ever designed with the sole purpose of being a training A/C, its far more stable than anything else there is, even to the point where if you put it into a spin it will return its self to S & L without any input (As i had to prove on my FI(r) Course)

If your going to make comments on here know your facts first What Next....

Anyway, the I've flown many hours in both & the 152 is the better as its obviously cheaper but it is also simple & easy to learn skills in that can be transferred easily across to its heavier older brother!! the 152 is nicer to land & its certainly more fun, just my opinion but the choice is yours!!

Jamie
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Old 26th Feb 2009, 18:22
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Hello!

here know your facts first What Next....
Sorry, I'm not an English native speaker, so I may use terms that may not mean exactly what you mean them to mean. If you know what I mean?

Using the term "stable" I intended to say that the heavier 172 will be thrown around less by thermals and gusts, both during cruise and during landing. So there is less work for the pilot to keep it straight and level. Or pointed at the runway during approach. Or pointed at the end of the runway whilst flaring. It has more inertia and a stronger engine, so it can be flown out of the stall easier than the 152.

But then, I really have no idea what I'm talking about. I haven't touched the controls of either the '72 or the '52 in years, although I keep instructing on both of them. Both of them are so easy to fly that I don't have to touch the controls ever, not even with zero hour beginners

Greetings, Max
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Old 26th Feb 2009, 19:17
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I've flown both the 152 and 172 for about 60 hours apiece and would definitely vote for the smaller sibling for your initial training. English is my first language and I would agree with Max, the 172 is more stable in the air. The 152 is far more fun to fly, if a little cramped.
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Old 26th Feb 2009, 19:21
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172 Speeds.

If any FI`s have a spare minute. What speeds do you use on the F172F Skyhawk (knots) ie VR, Vy, Vx, Cruise ,Vfe ,Final and such like. Looks like I will be teaching on the 172 soon.

PT. Thanks
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Old 26th Feb 2009, 20:13
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jamie230985 said:
give me a break, the 152 is the only A/C ever designed with the sole purpose of being a training A/C .........

......... If your going to make comments on here know your facts first


Difficult to know where to start, really! I wonder how rapidly ppruners could produce a list of aircraft 'designed with the sole purpose of being a training aircraft' that would have in excess of one hundred types on it?
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Old 27th Feb 2009, 00:48
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My 0,2€

I think the 172 is a LOT more confortable than the 152. It is bigger, the seating position is more upright and it is easyer to climb in to... Little things but they do make a difference.
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Old 27th Feb 2009, 01:12
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Perhaps this is a bit obvious, but the C172 has a back seat. Ride for free when you can and get rides, especially on instrument lessons in actual IFR. This will give you a massive advantage when you go after IFR training later. When I was a CFI, I rode with a part 91 twin pilot with a death wish. I'd had enough after two weeks, but I saw all the ways you DON'T
fly a plane in those two weeks.

He crashed a wee bit later. He's OK, but unemployed.
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Old 27th Feb 2009, 06:13
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Difficult to know where to start, really! I wonder how rapidly ppruners could produce a list of aircraft 'designed with the sole purpose of being a training aircraft' that would have in excess of one hundred types on it?
I think you will find that ever other a/c that is regularly used for flight training (e.g. C172, C150, Grob Tutor, PA-28......etc.....) were all designed as touring a/c or for other purposes where as the 152 was simply designed to train.

Seriously thou guys, your telling someone who is asking our advice to spend more money on a more difficult a/c to fly. If you felt sick then that is only natural, some people get that feeling due to the spacial disorientation & the different sensations in the a/c. Next time you fly take a bottle of water with you & a sick bag just in case but most importantly focus on a fixed point far away in the distance, open the fresh air vents & tell your instructor. The best thing he can do is give you control & let you fly for a bit, that will stop the feeling pretty quickly!!

Jamie
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Old 1st Mar 2009, 10:44
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The pa-38?
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Old 1st Mar 2009, 15:44
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The pa-38?

Was I would very much expect designed to be a training aircraft and would be my choice simply because it has more shoulder room than a C150/2 and is about the same price.
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Old 1st Mar 2009, 21:45
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some folks in the know say that Tomahawk needs bit of an input to get out of spin (not necessarily bad thing I guess)
Unlike 152, as mentioned, that it straightens itself out = read as let go (unless panicked student pulls the yoke to his/her chest, read about a fatal on PPRuNe where this was presumed cause of accident with instructor - lesson to learn, don't fight the instructor if crapping own pants - that is, if onboard)

Considering it's 8/9% difference respectively - your prospective school has either pricey 152s or cheap 172s, not sure about OZ pricing.
Most schools in the US have 15-20 bucks difference in hourly rental (80 - 100, or 100ish vs 120ish), so it makes a difference to fly 152 unless 172 needed for IR training. UK ditto, but in GBP.
Not to mention SP or G1000 thingies, those 172s could be 50-70% more than 152 in some schools.

For that small difference, I'd fly about 30% of initial hours (or whole PPL) in 152 and then went on 172 for the feel and instruments etc.
As mentioned, teaming up with fellow students for some 'mutual observation' in 172 dual flights is good for learning.
Shame I counldn't fit in R22 when did some rotary flying (tight with stude and CFI already)
The school wouldn't allow 'observing passengers' pre-PPL issue of the student in command anyway, plus I think 70h TT or so min, too.

I only fly gliders now and then, but when back to intensive flying (subject to cash and time) I'll learn in taildraggers a la Cub for very own reasons. Then whatever for IR rating later on.
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