That article's list of model numbers overlooks the Model 320 Skyknight (1961-68); and mistakenly refers to the Skymasters as 335 and 336 (fixed-gear was 336, retractable was 337).
I'll figure out how to do that.
In the early '60s there was an experimental "Model 160," projected as a low-cost, entry-level four-seater with slab-sided, corrugated aluminum skins and a Grumman-style, nonsteerable nosewheel.
As the 177 Cardinal was originally intended to replace the 172, the factory referred to it early on as "172J". That's why the 1968-69 Skyhawks skipped from 172I to 172K. A slightly larger airplane, similar in concept to the Cardinal, and intended for the Skylane market niche, was built and flown as "Model 187." There was also a prototype of a center-line-thrust twin, smaller than a 337, intended to compete in the Twin Comanche market. I forget its number offhand, possibly 327?
Remember the Model 205? It was essentially a 210C with fixed landing gear. It was marketed as "205" but its "official" model number was "210-5."
The other single-engine retractables are really confusing. The retractable 172 is 172RG. The retractable Cardinal is 177RG. The retractable Skylane is ... nope, it's R182. A TR182 is a turbocharged, retractable Skylane, but a T182R is an early-'80s, turbocharged, fixed-gear Skylane. An R172 is a fixed-gear, Continental six-cylinder IO-360-powered 172 (Reims Rocket, Hawk XP, T-41), but 172R is the current, 160-hp Skyhawk.
French-built models all have an 'F' prefix before the model number. A few 182's were built in Argentina, those were "A182." But an "A150" or "A152" is a US-built, acrobatic version. An "FRA150" is a French-built 150 Aerobat with a 130-hp Rolls-Royce Continental engine.
Got all that? There will be a quiz on Friday.
Is there logic to all that? Not really. Mainly it's what sounds good to the marketing department at the particular time. Probably the most "logical" postwar Cessna model number was the four-engine Model 620. Somebody reasoned that it was a "Model 310 x 2."
What was the only postwar Cessna in which the horsepower rating matched the model number ???
The registration number on Cessna's prototype Light Sport Aircraft is N158CS, leading to speculation it will be "Model 158."
I'll figure out how to do that.
-- Pilawt
What was the only postwar Cessna in which the horsepower rating matched the model number ???
-- Pilawt
Right on.
Hey, Don't forget the Cessna "620". (As in twice the 310!) HAHA!
Here is all about it:
http://www.1000aircraftphotos.com/PRPhotos/Cessna620.htm
--Matt
The late former Cessna Manager of Flight Test & Aerodynamics, Bill Thompson, devoted a chapter to the C-620 in his 1995 book, Cessna - Wings for The World II. He wrote that the C-620 project was suddenly canceled in 1957, just a year after its first flight, the sole prototype was bulldozed (literally), engineering drawings and reports were destroyed, and half of the company's 200 engineers were laid off. Fortunately Thompson bootlegged notes and memos about the airplane.
Cessna's pre-war model numbering system was different from the postwar (which began with 120/140, 170 and 195), and even more disorganized.
Can't find any reference to anything with those numbers.
Tweety Bird...
There's no rhyme or reason to it, and sometimes it varies depending on the year. For example, there have been various incarnations of 172s with engines rated from 145 hp to 210 hp. As was mentioned earlier, only one postwar Cessna model number matches the rated horsepower (the Model 175/Skylark - 1958-62 - had a 175-hp engine).
'XP' and 'SP' are marketing names, not model numbers. The name "Hawk XP" was used only in connection with the fixed-gear Model R172K (1977-81) with a 195-hp, six-cylinder Continental IO-360 engine and constant-speed propeller.
That's a terrific article. Thanks!
A little irony -- the Skyhook was designed by Charlie Seibel, whose company was absorbed by Cessna. One of the Seibel company's earlier helicopters was called Sky Hawk.
