Cessna 172RG Cutlass RG vs Piper 28T Arrow 4

Side-by-side specs, range, and real operating costs

Aircraft

Search for an aircraft above to begin your comparison.

Mission Performance

Stall, approach, cruise, range, ceiling and climb — the higher on the chart, the better, on every axis.

Hover to isolate · tap to pin
Mission performance specifications
Specification Cessna 172RG Cutlass RGPiper 28T Arrow 4
Stall speed 54 kt60 kt
Approach speed 65 kt73 kt
Cruise speed 140 kt172 kt
Range 720 nm695 nm
Service ceiling 16800 ft20000 ft
Rate of climb 800 fpm940 fpm
Fuel burn 10.0 gph12.0 gph

Each axis is scaled independently across the compared aircraft and printed in its own units; every vertex sits at the published figure. Higher is better on all axes: Stall, Approach and Fuel Burn are inverted (lower = higher). A missing figure breaks the line at that axis.

Flight Profile

Service ceiling, range, and climb rate.

Tap legend to isolate

Arc represents the climb-cruise-descent profile based on published service ceiling and range. Climb rate annotated on ascent. FL180 (18,000 ft) shown for reference.

Fuel Burn & Range

Range, endurance, and what the fuel costs by the hour.

Cessna 172RG Cutlass RG Avgas
10.0 gph
Baseline
720 nm range 62 gal usable 14.0 nm/gal $65 fuel/hr 6h 12m endurance
Cessna 172RG Cutlass RG: 10.0 gallons per hour at cruise, 720 nautical mile published range, 6 hour 12 minute endurance, 14.0 nautical miles per gallon.
Piper 28T Arrow 4 Avgas
12.0 gph
Baseline
695 nm range 77 gal usable 14.3 nm/gal $78 fuel/hr 6h 25m endurance
Piper 28T Arrow 4: 12.0 gallons per hour at cruise, 695 nautical mile published range, 6 hour 25 minute endurance, 14.3 nautical miles per gallon.
Avgas range each cell = 1 hr of cruise · width scales with speed

Bars show published still-air range. Endurance is usable fuel divided by the published cruise burn. Estimates only. Always verify against the POH.

Runway Performance

Density altitude adjusted estimates

Outside Air Temp
0°F57°F115°F
Field Elevation
SL4,0008,000 ft
Density Altitude

Takeoff over 50 ft obstacle

Landing ground roll

Base distance DA penalty
Scale: 6,000 ft

FAA 10%/1,000 ft DA rule of thumb (FAA-H-8083-25B). Turboprops and jets are less sensitive in practice. Always verify against the POH.

Estimated Operating Costs

Scale:
Cessna 172RG Cutlass RG Avgas
$129 /hr
Baseline
Cessna 172RG Cutlass RG: $129 per flight hour — fuel $65, maintenance and reserve $64.
Piper 28T Arrow 4 Avgas
$192 /hr
Baseline
Piper 28T Arrow 4: $192 per flight hour — fuel $78, maintenance and reserve $114.
Cessna 172RG Cutlass RG Piston
$10,700 /yr Baseline
Cessna 172RG Cutlass RG: $10,700 per year — insurance $2,067, hangar $4,439, annual inspection $4,194.
Piper 28T Arrow 4 Piston
$12,405 /yr Baseline
Piper 28T Arrow 4: $12,405 per year — insurance $3,800, hangar $6,605, annual inspection $2,000.

Estimates only. Costs vary by location, pilot profile, and market conditions. See individual aircraft pages for source notes.

Capability & limits

Each bar stacks your selected occupants against full fuel and the aircraft's useful-load limit (the black line). The open gap between them is spare payload. Add an occupant and the gap closes; once it's gone, fuel has to give.

190 + 30 lb Occupants
×
1
Cessna 172RG Cutlass RG
4 / 4 seats 62 / 62 gal fuel 688 lb wet payload 1,060 lb useful 2,650 lb MTOW
Piper 28T Arrow 4
4 / 4 seats 77 / 77 gal fuel 775 lb wet payload 1,237 lb useful 2,900 lb MTOW

Occupants at 190 + 30 lb each. Fuel at 6.7 lb/gal jet-A, 6.0 lb/gal avgas.

Dimensions & configuration

Representative planforms, drawn to shared scale.

Cessna 172RG Cutlass RG
36.0 × 27.4 ft 8.8 ft tall
1× Piston Retractable Unpressurized
Piper 28T Arrow 4
35.4 × 27.3 ft 8.2 ft tall
1× Piston Retractable Unpressurized

Payload-Range Map

Full fuel ← → Max payload

Origin: · two fingers to move map

Cookies and analytics. We use Mixpanel and Google Analytics to understand how this site is used. Mixpanel records session replays (interaction patterns, scroll, and click timing). Page content is masked: we do not see what you read or type. Cookies are set only if you accept. Read our privacy policy.