User Guide

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Cessna 172R –
Introduction and Tour
We’ve spent enough time looking at theory in the last cou-
ple of chapters. Let’s start flying - and our steed for these first intro-
ductory lessons will be the same airplane that’s probably taught
more Americans to fly than any other: Cessna’s immortal 172.
A LITTLE HISTORY
If the Douglas DC-3 is sometimes characterized as “the
plane that taught the world to fly,” then the Cessna 172 would
have to be “the plane that made Americans pilots.” First intro-
duced in 1956 (when it sold for all of $8750 brand new), it was
aimed squarely at the prosperous postwar middle class. As such, it
was designed to be uniquely easy to fly, featuring “Land-o-Matic”
tricycle gear (no, really - advertising copywriters in the ‘50s were
something else), “Para-Lift” flaps, and car-like doors on each side.
Contemporary ads featured all-American families flying off for
wholesome vacations; the dads almost invariably decked out in
Ward Cleaver-style fedoras.
“But wait - there’s more!” Two years ago, the 172 went back
into production at Cessna’s brand-new single-engine plant at
Independence, Kansas. By now it may well be the most produced
plane in history, eclipsing even Germany’s Me-109 fighter and
Russia’s IL-2 Shturmovik attack plane. It’s a little hard to be exact
- record keeping got a little spotty in the final months of World
War II! With its fuel-injected engine and fancy instrumentation,
the new 172R (the model included in FLY!) may seem a far cry
from that first 1956 model...but it’s still essentially the same
benign and efficient “Plymouth of the skies,” and its handling and
performance are still as amiable as ever. Alas, a new one, well
equipped, may leave you just enough for an airport cheeseburg-
er...from a $150,000 check.
Flight Instruction
Flight Instruction
Cessna’s Skyhawk
“The Plymouth of the Skies”