It’s not often we get general aviation news off The Motley Fool, but the investment website teased this headline recently: Can you guess the world’s most popular airplane? (Hint: It’s Not From Boeing or Airbus).
Blogger Alexander MacLennan, who writes about “Industrials, Airlines, and Financial companies,” opens his post with: “Aerospace manufacturers Boeing and Airbus may be among the best known aircraft makers but neither one makes the most produced or most sold aircraft in the world. That honor belongs to Cessna, now part of Textron, for the Cessna 172 Skyhawk; an aircraft that has produced and sold over 43,000 units and remains in production today. Between Boeing and Airbus, the most popular model is the Boeing 73,7 which has received about 12,600 orders and delivered just over 8,000 units.”
Cessna 172 may be the most popular 60 year old design but I think it’s popularity with high wing fans will be replaced by an aircraft that is $100,000 less and has the performance of a Cessna 182. The Flight design C4. This plane is multi fuel and has a safety cage fuselage. If it is certified in the next 5 years, I will definitely consider it but I won’t put money down until it is certified.
Clunky, capable and so very easy to fly. If only the price had not inflated to the point of insanity. Thank you for killing the golden egg goose, product liability Shylocks.
Wow. Just a few weeks ago, we finished out own profile of the Cessna 172 (http://disciplesofflight.com/cessna-172-skyhawk/). Maybe, as some have pointed out, it’s not the best aircraft for every type of flying, but it’s definitely a good all around flyer. There’s a reason its lasted as long as it has. And why it’s one of only three single engine aircraft Cessna brought back after their production freeze in the 80s.