Cessna" just doesn't get it" yet. The C172 was, and still is, a great airplane. I've had mine since the late 60s, and still would have no other, for what it does.
However for a new model, it is improved capability that matters, and better economy, or safety, and not just a new paint job or "eye-candy" avionics. Hence this new C172 model completely "strikes out".
My restored and slightly modified/updated 1962 Cessna 172C is just about as good as, if not even better than this new model, in many key respects, at a small fraction of the cost.
As an example, their new "optional EVS" is virtually useless in an aircraft like this, if not even a safety liability. EVS is a risky capability, primarily useful for military tactical or security missions, but not for any mission profile likely relevant for any C172.
The other avionics in this new model are also still just awful. They have horrid human interfaces, not coming close to the utility of a real FMS. Worse, this new C172 still can't fly (the new global ICAO standard) RNP trajectories, including VNAV, which I've been doing with a homespun application in my C172 for over five years now in, particularly in and out of my local island airstrip. They haven't even likely heard of GLS, which is vastly better than ILS, and is already in or planned for all new Airbusses and Boeings, which will likely be the eventual global standard, replacing expensive and vulnerable ILS, and could have already been available for a new model of a C172.
Cessna needs to wake up to what really matters for the future of General aviation, and for their new aircraft models, starting from from the Skycatcher and C172, thru the Citation series, or they will face an increasingly dismal future, and GA will also suffer more collateral damage as a result.
I wish them well, and hope they eventually get the picture.
B Regards,
Tom
(a family that has been a loyal Cessna fan [and once even a Cessna dealer] since the 1940s)
