I bought my own Cessna 172. got tired of renting from FBO @ $125 hour and up..
my Cessna 172 cruises at 120-130 mph. I usually cruise at 2300 rpm / 120 mph good fuel burn
It cost me around $25 per hour to fly it on fuel cost
fuel is around $3.75 per gallon for 100LL (Low lead) I burn 6 gallon per hour in cruise at 7500 ~10,000 feet more down low surface to 7500 feet around 8 gallons per hour
$3.75*8 gph = $30 per hour I can cruise 4 to 6 hours on my fuel reserves (depending on gph burning) before I need to land and refuel.
also I put $15.00 per every flight hour in bank to pay for engine overhaul in future
I have around 1000 hours left before time to overhaul motor 15*1000=$15,000 should be enough $$ I'm also a aircraft mechanic so I can do work myself and save money on labor.
here at my home base 100LL fuel is $3.75 gallon in many areas it's selling for $3.75 to 4.50 per gallon..