Graham Warwick/INDEPENDENCE
CESSNA HAS BEGUN assembly of the first Model 172 Skyhawks at its new piston-aircraft plant at Independence, Kansas. Six aircraft are already in assembly, and the first will be completed by mid-November.
The first aircraft will undergo US Federal Aviation Administration flight-testing in December and will be delivered to the first customer - the US Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association - in January 1997.
Cessna, meanwhile, has begun converting options held on its new piston-singles into firm orders and says that the conversion rate is high. The company holds options on 460 Model 172s, 182s and 206s. About 65% of the options are for the four-seat 172, 15% for the larger 182 and 20% for the six-seat 206 and Turbo 206.
The Model 172 is being marketed mainly as a trainer, but Cessna says that 30% of sales so far have been to individuals. Some 35-40% of the options are held by foreign government and commercial customers, for flight training, with US flight schools and flying clubs accounting for the balance of the options in hand.
The 182S Skylane is being marketed primarily as a personal aircraft, because of its greater baggage capacity, while the 206 is being aimed at the utility market. Cessna expects many of the more-powerful Turbo 206s sold to have floats. Option holders are being asked to place a $5,000 non-refundable deposit to convert a 172 option into a firm order, with a $15,000 deposit required to covert a 182 option. Prices for the 172 start at $124,500, with the 182S at $190,600 (Flight International, 7-13 August).
See Oshkosh feature, P30.
Source: Flight International
