Cessna 172

what is it?

The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company. First flown in 1955, more 172s have been built than any other aircraft. It was developed from the Cessna 170, which was first manufactured in 1948, but with tricycle landing gear rather than conventional landing gear.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · shoulder wing · fixed tricycle gear · 11 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 226 km/hcruise speed
• range 1,289 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 3passengers
• size 1,111 kgmax take-off weight
• built 44,000made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 71 years ago, in 1955.
• 🚗Wingspan of 11 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,289 km: 7× Amsterdam to Brussels.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1955

introduced

1956

status

in production

number built

44,000

role

civil utility aircraft

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Cessna

engines

1× Lycoming IO-360-L2A

passengers

3

length

8.3 m

wingspan

11 m

height

2.7 m

max take-off weight

1,111 kg

top speed

—

cruise speed

226 km/h

range

1,289 km

ceiling

4,115 m

wings

shoulder wing

landing gear

fixed tricycle gear

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family