Neither one is better. The Piper Warrior PA-28-161 and the Cessna 172 Skyhawk are both four-seat, fixed-gear, single-engine trainers that will take you to a private pilot certificate in the same number of hours, against the same Airman Certification Standards, with the same examiner asking the same questions. What separates them is wing position, door count, availability and about twenty horsepower, and those differences matter less than how often you fly.
We train in Warriors at Van Nuys, so we have a horse in this race and we will say so up front. If you want the wider view of what to learn in, our guide to the best trainer aircraft covers the whole category, and our fleet page lists every airplane we actually operate. The full specification for our type is on the Piper Warrior PA-28-161 page.
The Two Airplanes In One Table
The Cessna figures below are the current published Skyhawk specification from Textron Aviation. The Warrior figures are typical Warrior II published numbers; both types were built across decades and your airplane's real weights come from its own weight and balance sheet, not from any table on the internet.
| Item | Piper Warrior PA-28-161 | Cessna 172 Skyhawk, current production |
|---|---|---|
| Wing | Low wing, semi-tapered | High wing, strut braced |
| Engine | Lycoming O-320, 160 hp | Lycoming IO-360-L2A, 180 hp |
| Seats | Four | Four |
| Doors | One, on the right | Two, one each side |
| Maximum takeoff weight | About 2,325 lb | 2,550 lb |
| Typical useful load | About 950 to 980 lb | 878 lb |
| Usable fuel | 48 US gallons | 53 US gallons |
| Cruise | About 115 to 125 knots | 124 KTAS maximum cruise |
| Published range | Varies with model and tanks | 640 nm |
| Takeoff over a 50 ft obstacle | Varies with model; read the POH | 1,630 ft, 960 ft ground roll |
| Landing over a 50 ft obstacle | Varies with model; read the POH | 1,335 ft, 575 ft ground roll |
| Our rate, pay-as-you-go | $269 per hour wet | Not in our fleet |
| Our rate, inside a course package | $179 per hour wet | Not in our fleet |
What The Wing Actually Changes
Almost every real difference between these two airplanes comes back to where the wing is bolted.
The Case For The High Wing
You can see straight down. On a first flight over Los Angeles, or on any navigation exercise where you are matching ground features to a chart, a 172 gives you an uninterrupted view of the ground on both sides. That is a genuine training advantage early on, when pilotage is most of what you are doing, and it is why sightseeing operators favor high wings.
You get shade and shelter. Preflighting a 172 on a 100-degree August afternoon at Van Nuys, you are standing in shade. In rain, you load passengers under a wing. These sound trivial until you have done it fifty times.
Two doors. Every seat has its own way out, passengers board without a briefing on where to put their feet, and in an emergency there are two exits rather than one.
And the fuel feeds by gravity. A simpler fuel system with fewer pump-related failure modes is one fewer thing for a student to get wrong.
The Case For The Low Wing
You can see into the turn. Roll a high wing into a left turn and the wing goes up into exactly the piece of sky you are about to fly into. Roll a low wing and that sky stays open. For traffic scanning in a busy pattern, and Van Nuys is one of the busiest general aviation airports in the world, that matters more than the view straight down.
You can check the fuel without a ladder. Draining sumps and eyeballing tanks on a low wing is done standing on the ground. On a high wing it involves climbing on a step and a strut, which students skip more often than instructors would like.
It sits solidly. The wing is close to the ground, the gear track is wide, and in gusty conditions a Warrior feels planted while you taxi. High wings offer a larger surface for a crosswind to push on.
And the wing is a step. Loading bags and getting into the Warrior is a single motion up onto the wing walk and in. Some people prefer it, some do not, but nobody is confused after the first time.
Handling: Honest Differences
Both airplanes are docile, both are certificated in the normal category, both will teach you everything on the private pilot syllabus. The differences a student actually notices are these.
Stall behavior. The Warrior II's semi-tapered wing was designed to be more progressive at the stall than the earlier constant-chord Cherokee wing. The 172 stalls gently and gives plenty of buffet warning. Neither one bites.
Ground effect in the flare. A low wing sits closer to the ground in the flare and floats more if you arrive fast. That is often described as a disadvantage; in training it is the opposite, because it teaches airspeed discipline early. Students who learn in Warriors tend to arrive at the numbers on speed.
Power. Twenty horsepower is real on a hot day out of a 4,000-foot runway with four people aboard. The 180-horsepower Skyhawk climbs better in density altitude than a 160-horsepower Warrior, and on a summer afternoon in the San Fernando Valley density altitude is not academic. We fly the Warrior with weight limits that account for it, and our mountain flying checkout covers the arithmetic in detail.
Useful load. The published numbers above put the Warrior ahead, which surprises people. The reason is the 172's heavier empty weight in current, well-equipped configurations. In practice, both airplanes are two-adults-and-full-fuel airplanes or four-adults-and-part-fuel airplanes, and neither is a four-adult tourer.
The Argument That Actually Wins: Availability
Cessna has built more 172s than anyone has built anything else with wings. That has three consequences and they are all real.
First, there is a 172 at almost every airport in the United States, which means that after your checkride you can walk into a flying club in another state and rent something you already know. Second, parts and mechanics are everywhere, which affects downtime. Third, almost every instructor has taught in one.
Warriors and the wider PA-28 family are the second most common trainer by a comfortable margin, so none of these arguments is a cliff edge, but the 172's ubiquity is a genuine advantage and we are not going to pretend otherwise. If you know you will move cities after training and want the widest possible rental options, that is a legitimate reason to learn in a 172.
Why We Fly The Warrior
We operate two Piper Warriors, N3034Q and N6312C, both IFR-equipped and both four-seat. Three reasons, in order of honesty.
The first is traffic. Van Nuys runs two parallel runways, 16R/34L at 8,001 feet and 16L/34R at 4,000 feet, under the Los Angeles Class B shelf, and the pattern is full of everything from jets to other trainers. Seeing into the turn is worth more here than seeing straight down.
The second is that our Warriors are IFR-equipped, which means the airplane you learn in is the airplane you continue your instrument rating in. Not changing types between certificates saves both time and money.
The third is fleet coherence. We already fly Piper Arrows and a Piper Seminole for the commercial and multi-engine stages, and a student who starts in a PA-28 moves through the Arrow to the Seminole without relearning a cockpit each time. That progression is visible on our fleet page.
What we do not have is a 172 on our ramp. If flying one specifically matters to you, there are schools at Van Nuys that have them, and we would rather tell you that than talk you out of an airplane you want.
Does The Choice Affect Your Checkride?
No. The private pilot aeronautical experience requirements in 14 CFR 61.109 are 40 hours total, with at least 20 hours of flight training from an authorized instructor and 10 hours of solo, and they say nothing about wing position. The examiner tests the standards, in whatever single-engine land airplane you bring. What the airplane does affect is the rate at which you accumulate those hours, because rental cost and availability drive scheduling, and scheduling drives everything.
Related Reading
- Piper Warrior PA-28-161 — full specification, V-speeds and POH guide for the type we fly.
- Best trainer aircraft — the whole category compared, and why fleets differ.
- The airplanes you'll fly — every aircraft on our ramp with rates and weight limits.
- Glass cockpit vs steam gauges — the other big choice you make about a trainer.
- Private pilot license in Los Angeles — the course, the hours and the cost.
- Cessna 162 Skycatcher — the two-seat high-wing option on our own ramp.
Piper Warrior Vs Cessna 172 FAQ
Is A Piper Warrior Or A Cessna 172 Easier To Land?
Most students find the 172 marginally more forgiving because the high wing sits further from the ground in the flare and floats less. The Warrior floats if you arrive fast, which teaches airspeed discipline sooner. Neither one is difficult, and by ten hours most students have stopped noticing the difference.
Which Is Faster, A Warrior Or A 172?
The current 180-horsepower Skyhawk publishes a maximum cruise of 124 knots true. A Warrior typically cruises around 115 to 125 knots depending on model and power setting. They are close enough that on a two-hour trip it makes no practical difference.
Which Carries More, A Warrior Or A 172?
Published figures put the Warrior's typical useful load around 950 to 980 lb against 878 lb for a current Skyhawk, although the 172 has the higher maximum takeoff weight at 2,550 lb. Both are realistically two adults plus full fuel, or four adults with reduced fuel. Always use your specific airplane's weight and balance sheet.
Is A High Wing Or A Low Wing Better For Learning To Fly?
High wings give a better view of the ground for pilotage and two doors. Low wings give a better view into the turn for traffic scanning and easier fuel checks. At a busy field like Van Nuys the traffic-scanning argument carries more weight, which is one reason we fly Warriors.
Do I Need To Learn In A 172 To Rent One Later?
No, but you will need a checkout. Moving between PA-28s and 172s is a straightforward one-to-three-hour checkout at most flying clubs, and neither type requires an FAA endorsement. Time in one does not disqualify you from the other.
Do You Have A Cessna 172 At Van Nuys?
No. We operate two Piper Warriors, five Cessna 162 Skycatchers, two Diamond DA20s, a Piper Arrow, a Piper Seminole and a Cirrus SR22 Turbo. If you specifically want a 172, other schools at Van Nuys fly them and we will say so rather than talk you out of it.
How Much Does It Cost To Fly A Warrior At Van Nuys?
Our Warriors are $269 per hour wet on a pay-as-you-go basis and $179 per hour inside a course package. Instruction is $110 per hour. Fuel is included in both rates.
Fly One And Find Out
Arguments about wing position end the moment you sit in one. A discovery flight is $229 for 60 minutes in a Warrior, you fly it from the left seat with an instructor beside you, and it is logged as dual instruction toward your certificate. If you enroll within 24 hours it is credited in full against your training. Call (818) 330-1318 or book a free consultation and we will talk through which airplane suits you. We are at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91406, open 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM, seven days.