Cessna 152 - Helping to Set the Pace for Quality Aircraft Manufacturing

Cessna aircraft have long been considered the top of the line brand for aircraft in the general aviation industry. Over the past eight decades, they have branched out from producing very small tricycle gear aircraft to high-powered jets and turbo prop aircraft. However, before they got to that stage where they were producing high-powered aircraft, they were in the business of producing very small yet effective models like the Cessna 152. This is one of those mothers that aided in the development process that Cessna went through over the years.

The Cessna 152 aircraft was basically the modernization of the Cessna 150, and the first one was delivered to the market in 1977. At the time, Cessna 152 met the required performance standards that aviators were looking for, hence making it a very popular model back in the 1970s and 1980s. By 1985, there were 7,584 variants of the Cessna 152 that were built and out there for distribution. In such a short space of time, that was a very impressive record in terms of production.

As previously mentioned, the Cessna 152 aircraft were built to specifications that allowed it to be more powerful than the Cessna 150. It had a Lycoming engine, which provided a lot more engine power than the former Cessna 150, which was quite an impressive feature for aviators. The Cessna 152 aircraft had an all metal airframe and dual controls were installed in almost all of the models produced.

What many people were pleased with is the fact that there were hundreds of modifications available for the Cessna 152. One of the most common ones was the inclusion of the Cessna 152 Sparrowhawk power package, which increased the horsepower from 110 HP to 125 HP. For those not necessarily familiar with what that means, that is a great deal more power to the engine compared to the power produced by the 150. The Cessna 152 specifications and performance ability were also factors which many people considered as their reasons for wanting to go with this model. This model was 24'1" long, had a wing span of 33'4", and was 8'6" tall.

The maximum speed that the Cessna 152 could go to was 126 mph. The cruise speed was somewhere around 123 mph while the stall speed was 49 mph. Additionally, this model has a service ceiling of 14,700 feet. While some people were more interested in the appearance and ability to actually get them from Point A to Point B, others would rate Cessna aircraft based on these performance specifications.

Although the specifications indicated may not necessarily mean that much to a novice, an aviator would be very impressed - even today - at what the Cessna 152 aircraft was able to do. There are still used models available for anyone interested in owning one of them. This was considered one of the pioneers in the Cessna manufacturing line, and it would be a great privilege for anybody to be the owner of one.