WICHITA, Kansas — Textron Aviation has unveiled several enhancements to its iconic Cessna high-wing piston aircraft lineup — the Cessna Skyhawk, Cessna Skylane, Cessna Turbo Skylane, and Cessna Turbo Stationair HD — including new seating, updated instrument panels, and new exterior paint styles.
“When designing the next interior for the iconic aircraft family, it was important that we include feedback from customers and fans,” said Christi Tannahill, senior vice president, Customer Experience. “The result is a more modern, sporty feel that aligns with our family of Cessna Citation jets for the best aviation experience.”
The first change that customers will notice is an “enhanced level of comfort and functionality throughout the aircraft,” company officials said, noting that includes new power headset jacks and charging ports at every seat (USB A and C device compatibility), upgraded seats with additional support and padding, and a new center armrest for the Cessna Skylane, Turbo Skylane, and Turbo Stationair HD.
Other changes include a black instrument panel, new side panels, window locks, air vents, and new standard paint schemes.
The new interiors will be on display in a Cessna Skyhawk at the 2023 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.
The new enhancements will be available to customers starting in 2024.
I have thousands of hours in a Cessna 210 stable aircraft heck of a Workhorse very reliable one of the easiest flying airplanes I’ve flown
I bought my first plane a new 1980 172 Skyhawks 2 with the navigation package. I picked up at the factory. $42,900. I flew it back to Arizona.
This is the big news? REALLY?
Now wing root update after 60 years? No FIKI options? No Air Conditioning? No diesel or Jet-A engine options? No useful load increase?
I only mention all of this because with the FAA expanding LSA’s the venerable C172/C152 is in serious trouble.
These new LSA’s cost 1/2 of a C172, get way better fuel burn, have better stall and flight characteristics, air conditioning options, and some even have FIKI options!
Cessna/Textron is just resting on its laurels at this point and it’s sad to say the least.
Clyde Cessna would NOT be impressed!
Cosmetics is what it sounds like , some functional improvements would be more sensible and respectable . For example the cabin heat control in my 2007 182 is the same push-pull cable system used in 1957 , you either roast your feet or freeze , and with everything digital , do we really need the same high , scan -view blocking glare shield as in the 50s ??
These would be welcome and constructive improvements !
I worry about useful load. My 78Q has a useful load of 1364 lbs, with 480 lbs fuel, me and my three passengers and gear can come in at almost 900 lbd full fuel. If I vwanred a Cirrus, where fuel fuel the wife and I have to remove half the de-ice fluid I’d buy one. Skyline is most successful A/C flying, I’m not a fan of fixing it.
Get ready for a price increase.
Remember the days when you could choose between a !72 and a Skyhawk?
The difference was those who didn’t need the fancy paint jobs & interiors would
opt for the 172 rather than the Skyhawk to save $$$$
Now Cessna will have an excuse to raise the price to North of $500K.
USB hubs? That’s the big news? How about fiki certification? Lots of potential weather conditions for icing in upstate New York.
Air conditioning, and tip tanks to accommodate for the extra weight of those systems would also be big news.
I soloed in a C152 in 1985 and nearly all the time I have has been in Cessnas of one model or another, including my current C150E. Try as I might, the only thing I can remember about the interiors of any of them is the great friends, family members, and CFIs that sat in the right seat.
Lucky for me. I still have the C150 I soloed in 1975. Rachel was built in Oct of 1962. She is a 1963 Fast Back. My mom and Day surprised me with her on my 16th Birthday. After 4 complete rebuilds she and I take to the sky’s at least once every week for an hour or so. She s pretty much the same as she was when I got her in 1975. But of course several things are new. Some new technology and systems for safety. Over the years we have been on several adventures and have had a lot of fun with her. I turn 64 this year and am looking forward to many more years with her. There is defiantly something to be said for the Older Cessna’s. They really don’t make them like they use to.
I’m right there with you, Michael — we’re flying a virtual twin ‘63 C-150C, best Cessna ever made with added benefit of staying fit at age 71 so we can still fit into it, which most folks can’t. Now if we can just say LSA …
Sounds like that is right around the corner…..
Thank you AOPA, EAA ad any other group that helped.
Kinda like the new pickups — still pretty much the same mechanicals, with $40k more technology and that “modern feel.”
It would be great if Cessna would revert to the former 3-color paint schemes of the past, rather than rely on decals applied to all-over white. There is entirely too much white on current models, and the solid white wheel pants look like yet-to-be painted replacements. The paint schemes used in 1972 are my absolute favorites!
Textron should be ashamed. $400k for a 68 year old design and they are too cheap to paint it!
I was just thinking – I soloed in a C150 in November 1973, on my 16th birthday. That was a half century ago. I once owned a 1952 C170B, built five years before my birth. I am now 65. Imagine taking a long drive in a car built in 1952. Who would want to do that? Nothing against these new Cessnas, but frankly, the design is not all that much different than my old C170, which had its 3rd wheel on the correct end….. The best enhancements to the Cessna piston singles would be having them built again in America, by Americans, and at a price that a normal person can afford. Last I saw, a new C172 runs well over $400k. There goes the dream of flight for many. No wonder 50 year old Cessnas continue in use.