General Aviation

Cessna 172 Skyhawk

Manufacturer: Cessna

The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is a four-seat, single-engine, high-wing airplane with fixed tricycle landing gear. Developed from the tailwheel Cessna 170, it first flew in 1955 and entered production in 1956. More than 44,000 had been built by 2015, making the 172 the most-produced aircraft in history.

Aircraft Facts

Type Key
cessna-172
Class
General Aviation
Registry Count
19,451
Example Registration
N1001M

Specifications

Wingspan
11 m / 36 ft
Length
8.28 m / 27 ft
Height
2.72 m / 8 ft
Max Speed
302 km/h / 188 mph
Cruise Speed
226 km/h / 140 mph
Range
1289 km / 696 nmi
Ceiling
4100 m / 13500 ft
First Flight
1955-06-12
Production Start
1956
Total Built
44000

Aircraft Overview

History

Cessna created the 172 by adapting the Cessna 170 with tricycle landing gear and a revised tail. The first production model appeared for the 1956 model year. Production stopped in 1986 during a period of high product-liability costs, then resumed in 1996 with the fuel-injected 172R.

Design

The 172 uses a strut-braced high wing, an enclosed cabin, and fixed tricycle gear. The 1960 172A introduced a swept tail, while the 1963 172D added the lowered rear deck and wraparound rear window marketed as Omni-Vision. The current specification table is explicitly based on the 172R rather than every model in the family.

Variants

The long-running family includes early Continental-powered models, later Lycoming-powered versions, the 180 hp 172Q Cutlass, the fuel-injected 172R, the 180 hp 172S Skyhawk SP, and the retractable-gear 172RG. The military T-41 Mescalero was developed from the 172 for training and utility work.

Operations

The Cessna 172 is widely used for flight training and personal flying. The source also documents military training and surveillance use, and records the 64-day endurance flight made by Robert Timm and John Cook in a 172 between December 1958 and February 1959.

Notable Facts

  • The Cessna 172 first flew on 12 June 1955.
  • Production began in 1956 and resumed in 1996 after a ten-year interruption.
  • The 172D introduced the Omni-Vision rear window for the 1963 model year.
  • The 172R brought a factory-installed fuel-injected engine when production resumed.
  • Robert Timm and John Cook remained airborne in a 172 for more than 64 days.

Variants

  • 172M- 3,580 registrations - Example N100CG
  • 172N- 3,138 registrations - Example N1014F
  • 172S- 1,916 registrations - Example N10033
  • 172- 1,807 registrations - Example N100AW
  • 172P- 1,112 registrations - Example N105JK
  • 172K- 1,027 registrations - Example N102LA
  • 172L- 858 registrations - Example N1001M
  • 172H- 781 registrations - Example N105RD
  • 172G- 721 registrations - Example N107PS
  • 172F- 717 registrations - Example N100K
  • 172R- 682 registrations - Example N100LU
  • 172E- 616 registrations - Example N100WA
  • 172D- 471 registrations - Example N111MF
  • 172RG- 447 registrations - Example N107RC
  • 172A- 435 registrations - Example N1171B
  • 172B- 413 registrations - Example N120DH
  • 172C- 362 registrations - Example N115MB
  • 172I- 353 registrations - Example N128CG
  • 172Q- 13 registrations - Example N121VK
  • FR 172 J- 1 registrations - Example N833ZZ
  • FR 172 K- 1 registrations - Example N103AL

Machine-Readable Resources

Sources