Cessna 172: the world's most-built aircraft

The Cessna 172, marketed since the 1960s as the Skyhawk, is a four-seat, single-engine, high-wing light aircraft built by Textron Aviation’s Cessna brand. It first flew on 12 June 1955 and has stayed in production, with a gap, ever since: more than 44,000 have been built², making it the most-produced aircraft in aviation history. Flight schools worldwide use it as their standard primary trainer, and Textron still markets it in piston form today¹.

Design and development

The 172 began as a tricycle-gear derivative of the taildragger Cessna 170. In January 1955 Cessna fitted a 170 with a Continental O-300-A engine, larger elevators and a more angular tailfin, then added nosewheel gear in place of the tailwheel; the modified aircraft first flew on 12 June 1955 and was certified under the existing 170 type certificate as the Model 172 to speed approval. The simpler, more forgiving nosewheel layout suited first-time pilots, and the type sold immediately: more than 1,400 were built in 1956, its first full year of production².

The airframe kept evolving. The 1960 172A introduced the swept-back tailfin that the aircraft still carries, the 1963 172D cut down the rear fuselage and added a wraparound “Omni-Vision” rear window for better visibility, and the 1968 172I switched to Lycoming engines, raising power to 150 hp². The current-production Skyhawk carries a Lycoming IO-360-L2A four-cylinder, horizontally opposed engine rated at 180 hp¹.

Variants

“Skyhawk” started as a deluxe trim package on the 172B before becoming the standard name for the type, and in the 1980s Cessna briefly marketed the 172 as the Cutlass. The French manufacturer Reims Aviation built licensed versions, and Cessna also sold a retractable-gear model, the 172RG Cutlass. Later production settled on two piston models, the 172R (160 hp, introduced 1996) and the higher-powered 172S Skyhawk SP (180 hp, introduced 1998), the version still built today. A planned diesel variant, the 172TD, was announced in 2007 but cancelled in 2013 after its engine supplier went bankrupt².

Specifications

The current Skyhawk is 8.3 m long with an 11.0 m wingspan and seats four, including the pilot. Maximum take-off weight is 1,157 kg, and it cruises at around 230 km/h with a range of about 1,185 km. Power comes from one Lycoming IO-360-L2A piston engine producing 180 hp¹.

Operators and service

The 172 is the default trainer for flight schools and flying clubs around the world, valued for its docile handling and simple systems. Militaries have also used it: the T-41 Mescalero variant served the US Air Force in the 1960s and early 1970s as the initial screening aircraft for undergraduate pilot training, and several air forces still operate 172s or its military derivatives for training. Production stopped in 1986 under the weight of product liability costs in the US general aviation industry, then resumed in 1996 at Cessna’s Independence, Kansas plant², after a change in US law limited manufacturer liability for older aircraft. Textron Aviation continues to build and sell the Skyhawk today¹.

The type also set an endurance record still unbroken for piston aircraft: pilots Robert Timm and John Cook kept a 1958 Cessna 172 airborne for 64 days, 22 hours, 19 minutes and 5 seconds, refuelling in flight and covering an estimated 150,000 miles²; that aircraft is now displayed at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.

Similar aircraft

The Piper PA-28 Cherokee, a low-wing four-seat piston trainer, has been the 172’s closest long-running rival in flight schools. The Cirrus SR20 is a more modern four-seat piston single built of composite rather than aluminium, aimed at the same private-owner market, while the Diamond DA40 is a composite four-seat trainer and touring aircraft competing in the same segment as the current Skyhawk.