![]() The 170 was a much-loved airplane, and the switch to tricycle gear was seen by some as a betrayal of a tradition - around the same time, Cessna also discontinued the taildragger 140 in favor of the all-metal tricycle gear 150. The introduction of the Cessna 172 was controversial in a way that might be hard to understand today. It sprang from the taildragger four-seat 170, which was developed from the two-seat 140, which, as far as I know, was a new design - a new design that came about in 1946, that is. The airplane is the very essence of derivation. The opposite is true for the Cessna Skyhawk. ![]() When one thinks of an archetypal product, one that captures the essence of its market and demonstrates that with unprecedented sales success, it’s natural to assume that the product was the result of a flash of inspiration. Then again, these airplanes, despite their rivets shining in the sun, are thoroughly modern, highly evolved examples of the four-seat, entry-level general aviation airplane. You may ask, how much is a new Cessna 172 today? The Skyhawk goes out the door with pricing (from 2018) in the range from $369,000 to $438,000, depending on options-like the Garmin G1000 NXi. The 2012 model added some nice standard and optional touches, including available enhanced vision and ADS-B (automatic dependent surveillance – broadcast) upgradable traffic, along with new styling and lighting options. While the price tag of a new 172 puts it in a different league than its early predecessors’, the things that made the 172 an attractive model to begin with are all still there, and then some. And 55 years down the line it’s still adding to that total. Today, the Cessna 172 stands as the most popular airplane ever, with around 43,000 produced, according to Cessna’s numbers, including variants. Others moved beyond that to higher-performance models there was even a retractable version of the 172, which was a popular choice with flight schools to serve as a complex trainer. For decades that natural step-up airplane was another Cessna product, the 182 Skylane. After getting their feet wet with what was often the first airplane of their own, buyers would often move up to something bigger, faster and more capable. ![]() Why not? It was and is a great, fun flyer a good-short-haul, modest-payload cross-country machine a wonderful trainer and a solid IFR platform.įor other owners, the 172 served as a steppingstone. For many of those owners, the 172 was the airplane of a lifetime. It might not have been the best airplane at doing any one thing, but it was clearly the best at giving its owners a satisfying taste of everything they wanted in a personal airplane. The Cessna 172 was arguably the most elegant compromise in the history of aviation. It was an affordable, economical, utilitarian, safe and easy-flying airplane that could fill a variety of roles. It achieved its popularity through an unbeatable formula. ![]() It wasn’t that Cessna was resting on its laurels, though it could be excused if it were - even back in the 1960s, the 172 was the undisputed king of light aircraft. For many years, it wasn’t far from the truth. Thirty-five years ago the running joke about the Cessna 172 was that pilot reports on the latest model could be cribbed from the previous year’s article with updated references to the new paint scheme and fabric options. While the powerplant options continue to evolve, with the JT-A burning Jet-A, and an electric-powered version in the works, the Skyhawk flies on floating the same planform across the sky as it did in the 1950s. More than 72 years have passed since the Cessna 172 first appeared on engineering drawing boards in Kansas, and the airplane still figures into the training plan for many pilots who learn to fly around the world.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |