Planelopnik: Did you know?

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 10/12/2017 at 12:35 • Filed to: wingspan, Planelopnik

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In times of war, factories churn out thousands of warplanes. During WWII, the Ilyushin Design Bureau built over 36,000 !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , essentially a flying tank, that helped turn the tide of battle on the Eastern Front. However, that impressive production run only gets the Sturmovik second place on the list of most-produced aircraft. Do you know which aircraft takes first place? It’s the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a humble grocery-getter of an airplane developed from the tail-dragging !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! that took its first flight in 1955. Since then, more than 44,000 have been built in 21 variants in the US and France, and it remains in production today.

Cessna T-41 Mescalero, a military variant of the Cessna 172 used for pilot training (US Air Force)

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Connecting Flights

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If you enjoyed this post, please join in the conversation and let me know. For more posts about aviation history and aircraft oddities, head over to   !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn 10/12/2017 at 12:45

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I was idly curious, so I looked up current prices. Used ones are going for about $98k, brand new 2012+ $270k and up. That’s affordable as planes go, but still a reach for most of the middle class.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > ttyymmnn 10/12/2017 at 12:48

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Saying you fly a 172 is like saying you have a Toyota Camry.

A 150/152 has more Jalop cred, being a flying sheet metal box with a 1950's VW motor.

WilliamsSW > ttyymmnn 10/12/2017 at 12:53

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The Cessna 172 is an excellent, timeless design -and it’s stuck around because it’s relatively economical and simple. Most of all, it has excellent flight characteristics.

It makes a great training aircraft, because it is very benign at the edge of the performance envelope, but still reacts enough to train new pilots on how to react once you exceed the flight envelope. IE, it will react with a full break at the stall (the Cherokee/Warrior likes to mush, not break), and you can get it to drop a wing at the break, especially at full throttle - but at the same time, you have to work hard to get it to actually spin.

I may be biased.

BTW, below is a 1959 C172 - the original was launched in 1955, and had a very different tail from the C172A:

WilliamsSW > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 10/12/2017 at 12:56

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*This* is the only 152 that has Jalop cred. Otherwise, the 152 is a Toyota Echo if you’re calling the 172 a Camry.

WilliamsSW > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/12/2017 at 12:59

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There’s a few on Trade-A-Plane under $30k. First one I looked at was a 1966, with only 332 SMOH, which surprised me (thought it would be 1500+ SMOH TBH).

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > WilliamsSW 10/12/2017 at 13:02

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The Echo reference is very accurate.

ttyymmnn > WilliamsSW 10/12/2017 at 13:15

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Thanks for the info and the pic. This article would have been very long if I had included all the different tweaks over the years. That tail looks like it came off an A-26.

Rock Bottom > WilliamsSW 10/12/2017 at 13:23

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That’s just an Echo with R-compound tires and coilovers...

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/12/2017 at 13:25

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Be cheap like me and just fly them with prepar3d or FSX. No overhauls costs and you won’t die if you crash, just respawn.

Chariotoflove > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/12/2017 at 13:44

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Doesn’t matter because you don’t want to own and take on the costs for tie-down/hanger, etc. unless you fly a lot. For the recreational pilot, just rent.

Chariotoflove > ttyymmnn 10/12/2017 at 13:45

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It’s a great little plane for recreational flying. The storage isn’t bad either.

WilliamsSW > Rock Bottom 10/12/2017 at 13:51

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Well, kinda, yeah. But it’s an Echo rated to +6/-3 G maneuvers. :)

WilliamsSW > Chariotoflove 10/12/2017 at 13:52

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Flying clubs are the best answer!

Rock Bottom > WilliamsSW 10/12/2017 at 13:52

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3-D Flying Skid Pad!

WilliamsSW > ttyymmnn 10/12/2017 at 13:54

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Yeah, there are about a million variants. The original looks a bit unique though, with that square tail (and fast back roofline that stuck around through the 172C). I’ve spent a few hundred hours in 172s, and they’re a lot of fun—

Chariotoflove > WilliamsSW 10/12/2017 at 13:55

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Yup.

WilliamsSW > Rock Bottom 10/12/2017 at 14:06

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Like driving a slow car around a track, the 150/152 Aerobat requires very good energy/momentum management in order to get it to do what you want it to do.

Rock Bottom > WilliamsSW 10/12/2017 at 14:52

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How does it compare to something like a Citabria? A couple of my old friends bought one years ago and never shut up about the damn thing!

AfromanGTO > ttyymmnn 10/12/2017 at 14:57

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I love the float plane version.

ttyymmnn > AfromanGTO 10/12/2017 at 15:15

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Then you’ll love this, too. A DC-3 with floats!

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > ttyymmnn 10/12/2017 at 15:57

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That reminded me of the coolest plane I’ve ever flown on. I can’t come up with a pic of the one I flew on, but it was a red version of this. The Dornier Do-28A-1-S.

I suspect there weren’t very many Do-28A/B’s built because Mr. Google doesn’t supply very many pictures of them.

ttyymmnn > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 10/12/2017 at 16:08

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I actually have that Wiki article bookmarked for a future “Planes you’ve (probably) never heard of” article. I hadn’t seen that more aerodynamic version, though. Neat!

WilliamsSW > Rock Bottom 10/12/2017 at 16:12

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I’ve never flown a Citabria or a 152 - and haven’t done aerobatics even, actually.

But they’re pretty different airplanes - the Citabria weighs about the same as a 152, but has 150 HP v. 110 for the C152. That’s significant — and the Citabria has a much higher roll rate.

I think the A152 is basically a regular 152 with double rivet construction, skylights, doors that can be jettisoned, 4 point harnesses, etc. -

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > ttyymmnn 10/12/2017 at 16:15

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It was probably 25+ years ago when I flew on that plane. I vaguely remembered seeing a Dornier nameplate on it, but it was a long time ago and my initial googling was not promising. The high wing, low engine arrangement is definitely unique though. It was a pretty cool experience for a kid who was jacked on flying. We flew from Houghton, MI to Isle Royale and I got to sit shotgun on the way to Isle Royale. Taking off and landing on water is a pretty cool feeling.

ttyymmnn > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 10/12/2017 at 16:16

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Those are all things I’ve never done. And I’ve always wanted to go to Isle Royale. I was actually born in Ann Arbor, but that was nearly 51 years ago.....

AfromanGTO > ttyymmnn 10/12/2017 at 23:46

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Oh heck yeah!

Side note, I showed a house today that had a seaplane hanger! I now want a house one day with a seaplane hanger.

ttyymmnn > AfromanGTO 10/12/2017 at 23:52

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I liked it better in the original Army livery. Lots of pictures on the Interwebs of this bird.

Ash78, voting early and often > ttyymmnn 10/13/2017 at 11:07

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My old man helped launch the new factory that was part of the big resurgence in the 172 in the late 90s. He only spent a couple years there, but it was pretty exciting. Well, all except for the living in rural Kansas part.

ttyymmnn > Ash78, voting early and often 10/13/2017 at 11:56

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Our family trip took us through KS this year. We went specifically to see the tallgrass prairie, and I thought it was absolutely beautiful out there.

Ash78, voting early and often > ttyymmnn 10/13/2017 at 11:58

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No doubt...but once you start having to drive 2 hours to the mall on a 2-lane road, or dealing with incessant wind, it can wear you out and make you a little crazy. Plus the really cold winters, at least by Sun Belt standards.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn 10/13/2017 at 13:00

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And you can get 30-year financing on a new one.

Didn’t they give you your own blog?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn 10/13/2017 at 13:02

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I can love some DC-3, but the floats? Not so sure...

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 10/13/2017 at 14:53

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I think it’s awesome. Even if it isn’t practical, the fact that it works is fantastic.

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 10/13/2017 at 14:55

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Nope. Still publishing to the kinjaverse. But all my posts are collected the following tags, though the last one is now rolled into Wingspan.

https://kinja.com/tag/planelopnik-history

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/tag/wingspan

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/tag/planes-youve-probably-never-heard-of

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn 10/13/2017 at 15:07

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It just looks to me like a great way to die.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn 10/13/2017 at 15:10

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I’d think you would qualify.

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 10/13/2017 at 15:13

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What did you think of that piece I emailed you? Not to give anything away, it doesn’t drop for three more weeks.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn 10/13/2017 at 15:29

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Didn’t I reply? I guess I didn’t speak to the piece itself. I enjoyed it, though it may be a lot for the Opposhpere to read in its entirety, all but six of us.

user314 > ttyymmnn 10/13/2017 at 15:29

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How many of us began our aviation “careers” right here?

ttyymmnn > user314 10/13/2017 at 15:30

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All I can think of is, “Fuck Richard M. Daly.”

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 10/13/2017 at 15:32

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I think folks can handle two paragraphs. Especially if you break them up with pictures. Also, I don’t think you can comment on an unpublished post.

user314 > ttyymmnn 10/13/2017 at 15:36

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In terms of “Shitty things done in/to Chicago” this is pretty far down the list, but yeah, fuck Daly.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn 10/13/2017 at 15:53

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I thought I’d emailed you. I appreciated your O’Hare reference. Of those times I clearly and specifically remember flying on 707s and the pilot standing on the brake while the engines spooled up prior to the takeoff roll, and I remember PA announcements about cruising speeds in the 600s of knots. I think that for fuel burn, cruising speeds nowadays are in the 400s.

ttyymmnn > user314 10/13/2017 at 15:53

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When I was 9, I moved from Chicago to Virginia to live with my dad. I hung a great big map of Chicago on my wall, and remember looking at Meigs and Midway, thinking just how cool it was to have an airport right down on the lake. And while I didn’t realize it at the time, Midway’s crossed runways are a fascinating throwback to the earliest days of aviation.

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 10/13/2017 at 16:10

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You did. I also remember that time we were snowed in. Mom bought you a beer, and you were underage at the time.

AfromanGTO > ttyymmnn 10/13/2017 at 16:11

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Cool!

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn 10/13/2017 at 16:46

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Totemic , that.