Cessna 172 history how long in the air?

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Maybe I should move this to Historic?

I have flown a 172 for a couple of hours.

The most charitable description I can come up with is 'honest'

If I had to cart a family around then one would certainly be under consideration.

Happy diamond jubilee C172

Moggy

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The BBC story, though a good effort (anything that presents general aviation in a good light is a good effort) has a few facts wrong.
It says the 172 was developed from the 150. Not even close. The first flight of the 172 was in early 1955, the 150 didn't fly until 1957.

The 172 was developed from the 170 tail dragger.
The 150 had more in common with the 172 (the 170 was out of production by then) than with its two-seat predecessor, the 140. The tapered wings and large flaps and the slab sided fuselage (as opposed the the conical shape of the 140) is pretty obvious.

The main point of the article is the 172 has trained more pilots than any other aircraft. In the U.S., it wasn't widely used as a trainer until the 150/152 ceased production in 1985. When Cessna resumed light aircraft production, they did not resume the 152 line, instead offering the 172 as a trainer and personal type. A flight school could certainly give lessons in a 172 and then rent it for family touring. The 152 would not have been much cheaper to buy or operate, plus in large sections of America (and elsewhere while not necessarily the case in the UK) the extra power would be welcome, even when used as a two-seater, in hot or high altitude environments. I remember a flight on Phoenix in the summer in a 150, with two aboard we had to take off well before the heat of the day to have any power reserves. Now I live in the mountains, the higher power is almost a necessity. One of the local EAA members just bought a 1964 150 (straight tail with the rear window and cut-down fuselage) with the tail-wheel mod and a 150hp engine. It's one of the few 150s on the field as the flight schools use 172s.

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From what I remember the 172 was introduced in 1956 to compete with the Piper Tri-Pacer that came out in 1951 of course with a nose wheel. The 172 outsold the 170 by such a margin that by the middle of 1956 they stopped making the 170. In today's used airplane market(USA) the Cessna 170 sell for a higher price than an early 172(56-58). In 1966 you could buy a new 172 for about $16,000. Today's 172 goes for almost 400,000. No wonder new GA aircraft sales are only a shadow of what they were before 1980.

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From what I remember the 172 was introduced in 1956 to compete with the Piper Tri-Pacer that came out in 1951 of course with a nose wheel. The 172 outsold the 170 by such a margin that by the middle of 1956 they stopped making the 170.

It seems Cessna knew the 172 was going to be it's big seller.
For all intents and purposes, 170 production ended at the end of 1955...before the 172 entered production.
No 170s were built between Jan and Oct of 1956. Five were built in Nov, and the final 15 in Jan of 1957 (as 56 models).
They produced 1178 172s in 1956, it was probably as many as they could build.
The popularity of the nosewheel is pretty clear when you note that in 9 years they sold 5173 170s....and more than 20% of that number in the first year of the new model.

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About 1973 Cessna added a cuff to the leading edge of the wing making a already docile airplane even more so and very difficult to spin. This was done after STC modifications were being sold to modify the wing in the same way. The Cessna 172 has the best fatal safety record of any GA airplane followed by the 150 and then 182. High wing single engine Cessna airplanes with struts have a very good safety record.