I genuinely enjoy flying both and they both have their pro’s and con’s.
For example:
- The PA28 is low wing so it is easier to re-fuel. No ladders or climbing on the wing strut is required.
- The Cessna 172 has 2 doors where the PA28 has only 1 door on the P2 side. Having 2 doors makes it a lot easer to embark and disembark the aircraft (no need to clamber over the seats to get to the left hand seat)
- With the PA28 being low wing the visibility to the ground is not as good as the high wing Cessna 172
- With the Cessna 172 being high wing, the upwards visibility is not as good making it easier to ‘scan the sky’ for other aircraft in the PA28
Both aircraft are capable of flying at over 10,000 feet, but with the effects of hypoxia at altitude and comfort of everyone on board, these aircraft are generally flown at slightly lower altitudes.
Departing from Biggin Hill we are limited to 2,400 feet in the London area for VFR flights to avoid controlled airspace. Once outside of the London area and clear of controlled airspace, both aircraft can fly comfortably at around 6,000 feet.
As in any aircraft, it depends on the weather conditions. I have experienced both extremely smooth flights without any bumps and some reasonably uncomfortable turbulence.
Both aircraft have 4 seats including the Pilot and Co-Pilot. The number of passengers also depends on the weight and balance of the aircraft (e.g., how heavy is the baggage … and the passengers)
All of my flights are conducted under VFR (Visual Flight Rules). Using paper charts showing towns, roads, railway lines and terrain you can quite accurately plan direction taking the wind and magnetic variation into consideration as well as how long it will take to travel between 2 points.
Also, these days, GPS systems like SkyDemon really help to back up the paper charts.
Planes takeoff and land into the wind to reduce the amount of runway needed. A headwind reduces groundspeed for both takeoff and landing. All else being equal (weight, temperature, etc.) a plane will takeoff at the same indicated airspeed with a headwind as it does if there is a tailwind, or no wind.
There are many factors that determine the range of the aircraft. As a very rough guide with around 45 gallons of usable fuel at a burn rate of 9 US gallons/hour will give you endurance of around 5 hours. If your IAS is around 100 kts you should be able to travel approximately 500 nautical miles.
I would never plan a flight based on that calculation and would give 'a lot' more contingency.