FlyWithX

Cessna

Cessna is now part of Textron Aviation, which can be told from their offcial website address (https://cessna.txtav.com/). Beechcraft shares the same parent with Cessna.

Cessna produce piston, turboprop, and jet planes. The charts below are based on FAA registry.

Piston

Only 3 models are still in production: 172 Skyhawk, 182 Skylane, and 206 Stationair.

Top 1: Cessna 172 Skyhawk

More 172s have been built than any other aircraft. 4-seat, high-wing, piston. Very likely to be your trainer for Private Pilot License.

Cessna 172S (marketed as Skyhawk SP), introduced in 1998 is the only in production model right now. There are still many 172R in service, which was introduced in 1996 and slightly older than 172S. S and R use the same engine, the primary difference is that R has a maximum of 160 horsepower (120 kW) at just 2,400 rpm. while S is 180 hp at 2,700 rpm.

  • Typical useful load of around 900 lbs.
  • Max cruise speed 124 TAS
  • S/R: 53 Gal Usable fuel; integral fuel system (wet wing); fuel caps are vented; 5 fuel sumps on each wing; 3 sumps on the bottom

Upgrades:

  • 2005: Garmin G1000 became available. All new 172 now have Garmin G1000.
  • 1996: The Skyhawk R, the first Cessna 172 to have a factory-fitted fuel-injected engine.

What is Nav III?

The differences are the avionics.

  • Nav I (Skyhawk) had a basic 6 pack instrumentation, a single Nav/Comm and transponder.
  • Nav II (Skyhawk II): had two Nav/Comms, one with glide slope and a transponder.
  • Nav III: G1000.

The G1000 manual is with a subtitle "Cessna Nav III", the manual is for a 172R, 172S, 182T, T182T, 206H, and T206H aircraft.

172 R vs S:

  • identical engine
  • both fuel injected
  • only propellers are different:
    • R: cruise propeller, 2400 rpm, 160 hp, quieter due to lower rpm.
    • S: climb propeller, 2700 rpm, 180 hp; has 60+ lb extra load (509 lb pilot + passenger)
    • P: 160 hp @ 2700 RPM

172 N vs R/S

  • N is carbureted. R and S are fuel injected.
  • N flap is 20/30/40, R / S is 10/20/30; N can slow down and descend faster due to the 10 extra flap.

Trim

Trim is only found on the right side.

Pitot-static

  • a heated pitot head under the left wing
  • static port on the left side of the nose cowling. The alternate static source is located on the panel above the throttle and supplies static pressure from inside the cockpit.

Systems

low pressure annunciator and the pressure gauge are driven by 2 different sensors.

The earliest Cessna 172s had the Continental O-300 engine with 145 horsepower. Later versions had Lycoming O-320 engines. Originally those had 150 horsepower, later upgraded to 160hp. Still later, the engine was changed to the IO-360 with 180 horsepower.

Top 2: Cessna 182 Skylane

Cessna 182 Skylane (including 182T Turbo Skylane) is the second most popular Cessna model still in production, after the 172.

180 vs 185: 185 is basically a Cessna 180 with a strengthened fuselage. The main difference between the two aircraft is the larger vertical fin on the 185 and the 300 hp (224 kW) Continental IO-520-D engine as opposed to the 230 hp (172 kW) Continental O-470-S fitted to the Cessna 180. 180 produced 6,193, 185 produced 4400+. 180 has 4 or 6 seats, 185 is 6-seat.

Top 3: Cessna 150 / 152 / 162

All 3 series are 2-seat trainers. All ceased production.

  • Cessna 150 was produced between 1958 and 1977. 23,000+ produced. Continental O-200-A. 100 hp (75 kW).
  • Cessna 152 was produced between 1977 and 1985. 7,500+ produced. Lycoming O-235. 110 hp (82 kW).
  • Cessna 162 Skycatcher was produced between 2009 and 2013. Only 275 produced. Continental O-200D. 100 hp (75 kW). Much lighter than 150/152.

162 gross weight 1,320 lb (599 kg), right at the limit of LSA; 152 Gross weight 1,670 lb (757 kg), heavier than 162 and not qualified as LSA.

150 vs 152: 150 flap 20/30/40, 152 flap 10/20/30.

Cessna 205 / 206 / 207 Stationair

Developed from Cessna 210. 6-seat.

  • 206H: Lycoming IO-540-AC1A, 300 hp.
  • T206H: still in production, turbocharged, Lycoming TIO-540-AJ1A engine, 310 hp.

"HD" stands for "heavy-duty"?

Other Discontinued Models

Single-engine:

  • Cessna 120 / 140: single-engine, two-seat, tailwheel.
  • Cessna 170
  • Cessna 175 Skylark: designed to fill a niche between the Cessna 172 and the faster Cessna 182.
  • Cessna 177 Cardinal: intended to replace the Cessna 172 Skyhawk.
  • Cessna 180 / 185 Skywagon: tailwheel.
    • 180: 230 hp. 4 or 6 seats.
    • 185: developed from 180. Basically a Cessna 180 with a strengthened fuselage; larger vertical fin; 300 hp. six-seat;
  • Cessna 210 Centurion: six-seat, high-performance, retractable-gear.
  • Cessna 350 / 400: models acquired from Columbia Aircraft, which were from the certified Lancair models; composite, fast, competing (but not so successfully) with Cirrus SR-22, ceased production in 2018.
    • LC40-550FG: Columbia 300.
    • LC42-550FG: Columbia 350 / Cessna 350 (LC42-550FG = Lancair Certified, Model 42, Continental 550 engine, Fixed Gear).
    • LC41-550FG: Columbia 400 / Cessna 400.
    • T240: Cessna TTx Model T240, Cessna improved 400 version.

Twin-engine:

  • Cessna 310 / 320
  • Cessna 335 (unpressurized) / 340 (pressurized) were developed from 310, with wings from 414.
  • Cessna 336 Skymaster / 337 Super Skymaster: pull-push (engines are mounted in the nose and rear of its pod-style fuselage).
  • Cessna 401 / 402 are two generally similar but lower-cost versions comparing to 411.
  • Cessna 404 Titan was developped from 402.
  • Cessna 411 was developed from 310; 320 Skyknight was the turbocharged 310.
  • Cessna 414
  • Cessna 421 Golden Eagle was a pressurized version of the earlier Cessna 411.

Turboprop

Cessna 208 Caravan

Cessna is still offering 208B Grand Caravan and 208 Caravan.

  • Cessna 208 Caravan: 3-blade
  • Cessna 208B Grand Caravan: 4-blade, longer than caravan, larger MTOW, shorter range.

Cessna 408 SkyCourier

Specially designed to take 3 LD3 containers, which is used on wide-body aircraft, e.g. 77W/35K can take 44 LD3, 789/359 can take 36 LD3. Previously Cessna 208A Cargomaster and Cessna 208B Super Cargomaster were built for FedEx Express. FedEx owns both 208B and 408.

C408 SkyCourier has a higher freight capacity of 6,000 pounds, which is double that of the C208.

Cessna 425 / 441

Both Cessna 425 Conquest I and Cessna 441 Conquest II stopped production in 1986.

  • Cessna 441 Conquest II was a pressurized turbine development of the Cessna 404 Titan.
  • Cessna 425 Conquest I was a turboprop development of the 421 Golden Eagle.

Jet

Models in production:

  • 525 Citation M2 (a re-engined CJ1): 1,550 nm, 7 PAX max.
  • 525B Citation CJ3+: 2,040 nm, 9 PAX max
  • 525C Citation CJ4: 2,165 nm, 10 PAX max
  • 560XL Citation XLS+: 2,100 nm, 12 PAX max
    • Cessna Citation Ascend: an updated model of Citation Excel. Expected to enter into service in 2025.
  • 680A Citation Latitude: (4 PAX) 2,700 nm, 9 PAX max
  • 700 Citation Longitude: (4 PAX) 3,500 nm, 12 PAX max

Discontinued Models:

  • 510 Citation Mustang is a very light jet, it was produced between 2006 and 2017. After that Citation M2 became Cessna's entry level jet, and it is faster and larger than Mustang.
  • 560 Citation V, Ultra, Encore, Encore+
  • 680 Citation Sovereign+: 3,200 nm, 12 PAX max
  • Citation II stopped production in 2006. It is still the most popular Citation by 2019, but looks like it will superseded by XLS+.

The chain of development: Citation I -> Citation II -> Citation V -> Citation Excel -> Citation XLS and XLS+ -> Citation Sovereign -> Citation Latitude -> Citation Longitude.