Cessna's Skyhawk 172 Marks 65 Years Of Flight

Sixty-five years ago today, the Cessna Skyhawk 172 completed its first flight and since then has arguably become the brand’s best-selling aircraft. “On June 12, 1955, the Cessna Skyhawk took to the skies for the first time, paving the way for more than six decades of piston innovation and leadership,” said Textron Aviation v-p of piston sales Chris Crow. “The aircraft quickly established its place as the ultimate training tool, with more than 1,100 built and delivered to customers during its first year of production.”

The 172 has become a favorite among flight training schools and recreational pilots and over a half-dozen decades, Cessna has delivered more than 45,000 of the piston singles around the world. That’s despite a pause in its production in Wichita in the 1980s because of rising product liability costs. Production on the 172 and other Cessna piston aircraft resumed in a new, 400,000-sq-ft facility in Independence, Kansas in 1996 following the passage of the 1994 U.S. General Aviation Revitalization Act, which protected aircraft manufacturers from certain liability.

In addition to its role as a training airplane, the 172 has long been a favorite of the U.S. Civil Air Patrol, which Textron Aviation announced this week had placed a new order for 11 of the type as well as five Skylane 182Ts and one Turbo Stationair HD T206HD, using fiscal year 2020 funds. Those aircraft will join a fleet of nearly 550 Cessnas owned and operated by CAP, which is the Air Force Auxiliary and nonprofit organization that performs a variety of missions such as search and rescue, disaster relief, and homeland security.