The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is a single-engined, high-wing, four-seat aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company. The Cessna 172 is the most produced aircraft in history and probably the world’s most popular flight training aircraft.
Early 172s were almost identical in appearance to the Cessna 170s, with the same fuselage shape and the same tall landing gear legs, although later versions had revised landing gear, a lowered rear deck and an aft window. Cessna advertised this added rear visibility as ‘Omnivision’. The definitive structure, developed by the mid 1970s, consisted of the tail still used today. The airframe has remained almost unchanged since then, with updates mainly affecting avionics and engine fittings, including (especially in 2005) the Garmin G1000 glass cockpit option. Production ended in the mid-1980s, but was resumed in 1996 with the Cessna 172R and Cessna 172SP models with 120 kW (160 hp) and 135 kW (180 hp), respectively.
The old Skyhawks were delivered with a Continental O-300 110 kW (145 hp) engine, while the later versions were equipped with Lycoming O-360 135 kW (180 hp) engines, although the O-320 110 or 120 kW versions are more common. In addition, there are a few units equipped with Franklin 164 kW (220 hp) engines.
