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you seem to be going through the same things that I went through. Depends on who you talk to to which plane you will consider. First look at cost a nice 140 will run around $25,000 give or take. A nice 172(which is very comparible in useful load and fuel burn) will cost about $35,000 give or take. The 140 does sink alot faster than a 172 but that sink rate sure helps out when landing in a strong crosswind(she won't try to float down the runway) There are a few drawbacks to a 140 versus a 172. Some of which are less room I'm 6'2" tall and weigh about 155 lbs I have plenty of room but any back seat passengers are a little cramped, another I have trouble keeping the nose wheel off the ground when landing. It seems once the main gear touches the noise wheel touches and I'm pulled all the way out on the yoke. One other problem with the 140, if you want to use your plane to train for single IFR rating msot of the older 140's don't have the standard T panel and don't have the room for one unless you change the panel(and that is expensive). The plane that I have is a 68 model with a 0320 lycoming she cruises (on a calm day at 110 to 114 kts true airspeed) but on average at about 105knts true. warm summer days 90 degrees 900 ft elevation she will climb out at around 500FPM. Fuel consumption usually runs about 9GPH. If i had to do over again I would by my 140 again. I LOVE MINE.
good luck making your choice
piper pilot
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