Cessna 172 Skyhawk G1000
Target for the Cessna 172 Skyhawk G1000
30 to 60fpm
Full marks for descent rate up to 60 fpm; under 30 fpm the coach says the touchdown was softer than this aircraft is normally flown.
- Vref reference
- 65ktat 1,157 kg
- Tail-strike limit
- 12°the category's
- Ideal touchdown zone
- 50 to 200mpast the threshold
- G-force
- 1.10Gfull marks, the category's curve
The 172 Skyhawk is the most-flown airplane in history and the default GA trainer in MSFS 2024. It's also the airframe most sim pilots learn 'landing' in, which means a lot of habits formed here propagate to bigger iron. Get the 172 right and the 737 makes more sense.
Landing technique.
Final approach speed: 60 to 70 KIAS with flaps 30° (the POH's normal landing), or 61 KIAS for a short-field approach.
Round-out at about 20 ft AGL, much later than a jet. Let the speed bleed off in ground effect.
Hold the nose off after the mains touch, fly the nose-wheel onto the runway, don't plant it.
Crosswind: wing-down + opposite rudder is fine on the 172. Touch the upwind main first, then the downwind, then nose.
Don't use the wheel brakes until the nose wheel is firmly on the runway and you're tracking centerline.
Common mistakes.
Carrying too much speed into the flare, produces a long float, then a tail-low touchdown when the speed finally bleeds off.
Trying to fly the nose wheel down before the mains have settled, bounces are mostly caused by this.
Over-aggressive flare leading to balloon, then drop.
How its touchdown is scored.
The score at each point of its curves. Between the points, scores fall in a straight line; the full method is in the scoring methodology.
No shared landings or board for this aircraft yet. Its figures appear once pilots with a public profile have shared 5 graded landings in it, and a board once at least 5 opted-in pilots have flown it 10 or more times each. See the boards there are.
For reference.
Aircraft data
- Manufacturer
- Cessna
- Model
- 172
- Variant
- Skyhawk G1000
- FAA approach category
- A
- MTOW
- 1,157 kg (2,551 lbs)
- Vref in flight
- Adjusted to the weight you land at
- MSFS source
- Default Std
- Category
- Light Single-Engine GA
Roundout recognizes it in a title that contains
Cessna 172 Skyhawk G1000172 Skyhawk G1000172Skyhawk G1000
The rest of the Cessna 172 family
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Every landing in the Cessna 172 Skyhawk G1000, graded against these numbers. Every update included, and tax or VAT in most countries.