Cessna: A Master's Expression [Hardcover]

Edward H. Phillips (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 152 pages
• Publisher: Flying Books; 1ST edition (January 1, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0911139044
• ISBN-13: 978-0911139044
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,502,713 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cessna survives!, May 30, 2007

By 

James Hoogerwerf (Auburn, AL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cessna: A Master's Expression (Hardcover)

At a time when biplanes ruled the roost, Clyde Cessna "clung firmly to the concept that one wing was better than two."(34) The full cantilever wing was a significant improvement aerodynamically as well as aesthetically and became a Cessna tradition. But Cessna's production runs do not demonstrate that mass appeal was achieved. For example of the 1928 Model AA and AW series, no more than 65 units were built at a cost of approximately $6-7,000 each. From 1935-1938 only 104 of the C-34, C-37, and C-38 series were manufactured priced at between $5-7,000. The deepening depression was a reason for so few aircraft being produced; indeed the Cessna factory was closed from 1931 until 1933.

After WWII the government approved educational programs, including flight training, for returning veterans eager to get on with their lives. The post-WWII era was expected to usher in the "air age" and the Cessna 120 and 140 models were small two place monoplanes designed to serve as trainers. They incorporated new features and were reasonably priced. "Announced in the spring of 1946, the 140 represented a real value at only $3,385, equipped with a complete electrical system, manually-operated wing flaps, deluxe upholstery and rear and quarter windows. The wing incorporated aluminum spars and stamped aluminum ribs, greatly reducing both time and labor for these components."(127)

To meet demand a record number of general aviation aircraft were produced. From 1945 until 1956 a nearly 14,000 Cessna 120/140s, 170s, and 190/195s were built. These numbers are impressive but hardly represent mass appeal. Veterans, it turns out, settled down to raise families, complete their educations, and buy new cars and houses, not airplanes. Cessna's experience was not unique, but the company managed to survive. Many others did not.