In article , Roger Long
om wrote:

My flying club is going to trade our 172 N (only airplane) in next spring
for a 2 -3 year old 172 S or SP. We'll be moving up from a very simple
VOR - Loran panel to GPS and possibly autopilot. I can't imagine that we
can just put a new plane like that, with fuel injection, boost pump, etc.
out on the line and let people start flying it without a checkout and an
hour or two of dual before turning people loose in it. With 25 members and
one CFI who tends to be busy in the spring, that could take a while.
I'm thinking that we should plan on operating both planes for a month or two
so that people can keep flying until they get checked out. It will be
Spring, the weather will be improving and everyone is going to want to fly.
What do people here think?

The transition from carbureted to injected is the biggest hurdle for
those who don't already have the experience. I recommend using Deakin's
Avweb articles for mandatory reading.

As for the aircraft, the S and SP are a GREAT improvement in ergonomics.
Circuit breakers and switches are logically grouped, internal lighting
is vastly improved, seats and belts are integral single-point
shoulder-lap.
I cannot speak for the handling of the S model, but the SP controls are
"firmer", by that I mean that they do not have the free-play I have
experienced in the pre-1997 model 172's.
The injected engines are simpler to operate. Fuel pump is only used for
starting, not for landing. Landing checklist eliminates the carb heat,
too.
The SP gives better climb. Airspeeds are identical with the pre-1997
models, even for the SP, except for a 5 knot increase in cruise.
In the SP, power on stalls with flaps, 38 indicated; power on, no
flaps, 42 knots indicated.
It is a nice airplane. Depending on the avionics package, there may be
a bit of time required to learn how things work. If it has a King
package, the user's manuals are downloadable from the King website. I
printed them out on 5x8 index cards and punched them to fit in a
top-ring binder for easy reference. The KAP140 autopilot comes in one-
or two-axis models for this aircraft. It requires some study to use
properly.
The KN-94 GPS is powerful, but will not allow you to select instrument
approaches from the database unless it has a current database download.
Also, if the internal battery is dead, you cannot store routes.