Cessna Skyhawk 172/Cutlass vs Sling 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 Skyhawk 172/CutlassSling 4
Stall speed 53 kt—
Approach speed 61 kt—
Cruise speed 124 kt130 kt
Range 640 nm700 nm
Service ceiling 14000 ft15000 ft
Rate of climb 730 fpm800 fpm
Fuel burn 9.0 gph5.5 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 Skyhawk 172/Cutlass Avgas
9.0 gph
Baseline
640 nm range 53 gal usable 13.8 nm/gal $58 fuel/hr 5h 53m endurance
Cessna Skyhawk 172/Cutlass: 9.0 gallons per hour at cruise, 640 nautical mile published range, 5 hour 53 minute endurance, 13.8 nautical miles per gallon.
Sling 4 Mogas
5.5 gph
Baseline
700 nm range 44 gal usable 23.6 nm/gal $28 fuel/hr 8h 00m endurance
Sling 4: 5.5 gallons per hour at cruise, 700 nautical mile published range, 8 hour 0 minute endurance, 23.6 nautical miles per gallon.
Avgas range Mogas 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 Skyhawk 172/Cutlass Avgas
$125 /hr
Baseline
Cessna Skyhawk 172/Cutlass: $125 per flight hour — fuel $58, maintenance and reserve $67.
Sling 4 Mogas
$46 /hr
Baseline
Sling 4: $46 per flight hour — fuel $28, maintenance and reserve $18.
Cessna Skyhawk 172/Cutlass Piston
$11,400 /yr Baseline
Cessna Skyhawk 172/Cutlass: $11,400 per year — insurance $2,500, hangar $6,900, annual inspection $2,000.
Sling 4 Piston
$7,721 /yr Baseline
Sling 4: $7,721 per year — insurance $1,500, hangar $5,471, annual inspection $750.

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 Skyhawk 172/Cutlass
4 / 4 seats 53 / 53 gal fuel 577 lb wet payload 895 lb useful 2,550 lb MTOW
Sling 4
4 / 4 seats 44 / 44 gal fuel 728 lb wet payload 992 lb useful 2,028 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 Skyhawk 172/Cutlass
36.1 × 27.2 ft 8.9 ft tall
1× Piston Fixed Unpressurized
Sling 4
32.6 × 23.5 ft 8.0 ft tall
1× Piston Fixed 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.