Piper warrior or Cessna 172?

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Fly777bigBIRD

New Member
Which is a better plane to fly? I heard piper you can't see below while flying and cessna you can't see above....what is the better deal for both training and sight seeing?
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cessna's are easier for sight seeing. As far as training they're both good. Cessna's have better handling in the air, although Piper's seem to be easier to land. Overall, the differences are minor... not really enough to make one better than the other.
 
I've recently trained in both. I think they both have their own pros and cons, but look at the 172 as my "lazy" plane since I can be gentler on the controls. The Warrior seems to need a little more input and flies very heavy and feels very heavy. I couldn't knock either one though.
 
Well, I have flown both planes equally, and I would have to say that Warrior is a much easier plane to fly. Obviously, the 172 is going to better for sight seeing because of the high wing, but you are not going to be doing much sight seeing during training. I have found that the low wing Piper aircraft are much easier to land and flies much better.
 
Warrior.

Closer to any other plane you will move to.

How many high wing, with push-pull knob, planes do you plan on flying. Cessna pretty much stands alone in doing this in modern production planes. The throttle quadrant is a bit more natural.

I constantly disagree that a high wing is better to look at the sights. For pictures, maybe. But that wing always gets in a the way of the view if you are not flying straight and level, or turning away from what you are looking at.
 
both have their pros and cons
Cessna's
1. i think are more comfotable
2. having two doors is more convinent
3. I think cessna's do better in a x-wind (probably because they dont have all the dihedral like pipers)
4. Easier to manage the fuel, just put it on both (instead of having to switch to left and right all the time)


Piper
1. I think pipers have better stall charcteristic's
2. Like the fact that you can open the engine compartment during a preflight
3. Smoother landings
4. Like how they put tabs inside the fuel tanks
5. Dont like the fact that there is no back window.
 
Well, I prefer Pipers. They seem to be much more stable feeling. I guess they do feel heavier on the controls...good for IFR. Also, as for the "better sight seeing" argument; in the Warrior, youll have a better view of the runway when turning base and final.
 
Piper.
I felt like a kid in one of those coin-operated rides when I used to fly the push-pull throttle, box-with-wings Cessna.
 
I like the piper better myself. when your training your going to want to be looking up and out alot more than down. I hate not being able to check base and final unless I turn the plane around so I can see past the wing. also hinders looking at the windsock from the ground. I don't like the seating in the cessna either. it's too high, kinda like a truck. The tach is blocked by the yolk as well as some other instruments. the piper you sit more like a race car. everything is much easier to see, including the sky when your taking off.

I also make much better landings in the piper. x-wind and when the winds down the runway, doesn't matter. I'm not sure why... I'm thinking maybe because you can see the ground so much better and the tires, which for me makes my landings suck (to me).

only thing I like more on the cessna is that you can open the windows. helps a whole lot with single pilot flights because it's hard to hold the co-pilots door open on a hot day while your in the left seat.
 
well cessna doesn't really make twins anymore, so your likely to be flying a piper for your multi training, going from piper to piper seems like a smoother transition to me. A Seminole is more or less a twin engined Cherokee
 
Piper. I like the handling characteristics and POH a whole heck of a lot more. Give me a Warrior any day of the week.
 
There's not enough of a difference between the two planes to warrent much of a discussion about which is better. I've trained in both, and it dosen't matter. Go for the cheaper one.
 
cheaper is probably the best answer (depending on what you get for your money of course).

I'd be happy with either...but

1. i think the cessna cockpit is cramped in comparison
2. i hate hate hate not being able to see while i'm taxiing in a cessna
3. not a fan of the occasional wing drop during stalls in the cessna (had a renter check out in the warrior, made him do stalls and on recovery he would stomp on the left rudder because all he ever flew was cessna's and he "knew" that the right wing was going to drop on him every time during stalls.
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either way though, I'd be happy with either plane as long as they are maintained well.
 
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I constantly disagree that a high wing is better to look at the sights. For pictures, maybe. But that wing always gets in a the way of the view if you are not flying straight and level, or turning away from what you are looking at.

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As one who flew close to 2000hrs of commercial sightseeing flights I can tell you the high wing beats the doors off a low wing for that single purpose. The wing does not get in the way with the high wing because you are not usually cranking steep turns on those kinds of flights. With the low wing (this goes for the PA-28 and PA-32 airframe) if you have back seat passengers you constantly have to bank the aircraft to get the wing out of the way. As a result I had numerous passengers barf in the low wing and none in the high wing. For photo work the only good option is a high wing (unless you have an aircraft that you can slide the canopy back in flight).
 
Don't let my username fool you. I am recently a piper convert. I have done all of my training in cessnas. I am taking the checkride in an archer. Yes it is adding a few hours to my training, but time I have. The truth is that it is different for everyone. To me the Piper is new so its cool. They fly very similar. I like the Cessna. I have alot of memories in it already. Like they mentioned above, fly what is cheaper. If they have a 152 fly that at first so you can see the way wing loading has everything to do with how a plane feels and handles in the air. Then think about stepping up to a four seater. If you can stick around a 152 smoothly the 172 and Piper will feel that much more comfortable. I loved the 152. Such a fun plane. I would still fly it if, but for some reason my butt keeps getting bigger, so the bigger engine was needed. Try them both, see what floats your boat. Don't let the aircraft determine the quality of your training. Fly whatever as good as you can and it will be your favorite.
 
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Well, I prefer Pipers. They seem to be much more stable feeling. I guess they do feel heavier on the controls...good for IFR.

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While I like Pipers, I have to say that by far the best, most stable airplane I've flown is a 1975 Cessna 172. It just seems to me like I have far more control over the airplane and can make it do what I want a little more than Pipers. Now I've never flown a Warrior, so I can't say that a Warrior would be any worse, but I've flown Arrow's a lot, and I like them for long trips or getting there quick; plus I love the visibility in the low wings even though you can't see the ground as much. As much as I like the Arrow's though, I'll still fly a 172 over them if I have the time or don't need the performance. The 172 seems so much better for short/soft field performance and I just love it's stability. Just my $.02
 
I can't believe no ones mentioned ventilation/ air conditioning/ heating. Cessnas are great for summer times but tend not to keep you warm in the winter time. Pipers are like being in an oven during the summer but feel like being under a warm blanket during the winter.
 
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