What was Cessna Aircraft thinking, critics asked 25 years ago, believing that it could sell sophisticated business jets? This was a company known most for its simple single-engine aircraft. When Cessna Citation 500s started showing up on ramps in the early 1970s, sceptics ridiculed the straight-wing aircraft's lack of sophistication and relatively slow speed, but they sold. Now nobody derides Citations.
Something similar happened in 1994, when Cessna announced its intention to return to the piston-aircraft business. Critics were surprised at the decision to resume production of the 172 Skyhawk (introduced in 1955), 182 Skylane (certificated in 1956) and 206 Stationaire (introduced in 1965). "How could a company capable of fielding an aircraft as advanced as the Mach 0.92 Citation X return to producing something as unsophisticated as the 172", they asked. Cessna's marketing expertise was at work from the start, however, much as it was when the Citation was introduced.
Back in the 1970s, , the company's market research indicated that pilots of its singles and twins, both piston and turboprop, would move up to a simple, easy-to-fly, business jet. That same market-driven approach told Cessna in 1995 that, with a little more attention to detail, better creature comforts and more-sophisticated systems, the proven and popular Skyhawk could again be a contender. Two days spent in and around the factory demonstrator suggests that Cessna has hit its marks: the new 172 is more than just a rehash of the old 172.
Completely new
After 2.2h of cross-country flying in the new 172R, followed by a couple of hours of photo-mission time in a late-1970s Skyhawk, it is apparent that the 1997 aircraft is quieter, better equipped, more comfortable and more-luxuriously appointed than past 172s. The new 172 has business class written all over the interior -a lesson learned, perhaps, from those years of business-jet sales. To round out an overall favourable experience, this 172 is faster, quieter and more fuel-efficient than Skyhawks of old.
The evidence that this is a different aircraft is obvious upon entry into Cessna's 172R factory demonstrator, and even more apparent once airborne. The new Skyhawk feels more solid - a larger, heavier, more-business-like aircraft - than its 34,000-plus predecessors built over a span of three decades. Yet Cessna has pulled off these improvements without sacrificing any of the Skyhawk's most-endearing qualities, such as the simplicity of the airframe - largely unchanged from that of 1986 - its sturdy reliability or its predictable, easy-to-fly traits.
Flight International sampled the 172R's solid flying in the company of Cessna regional marketing manager Rich Manor, on a sub-zero December morning, with the Sun shining and strong north-west winds.
A walk-around inspection reveals the Skyhawk as the epitome of the simple pre-flight inspection - with one exception that Manor pointed out because of changes to the 172R. In its move from dry to wet wings (carried out to end problems associated with the separate tank inserts), Cessna made the pre-flight parade route longer, with 12 low points - versus three - to sump on the way. During development of its safety-enhancement programme, Cessna found that the single sump in the old 160litre dry-wing tank was not always at the low point where the aircraft was parked. So the two integral 105litre wet-wing tanks in the 172R have a sump at each corner, or five per tank. Add two engine-cowling low points to the sump and a pilot could wear out a fuel sampler rather quickly, but there should never be a ramp so inclined that a 172R pilot cannot drain all the tanks.
Otherwise, the Skyhawk remains as close to a kick-the-tyres aircraft as old aviators care to get. Inside are all-new 26G seats, including two reclining front seats , the design of which borrows heavily from the Cessna Caravan programme, including the seat tracks and adjustment mechanism. They are comfortable and functional. Rear-seat passengers get a one-piece seat with reclining back.
As I prepared for engine start, Manor pointed out from the right seat that the drill ending in turning the key is a little different from before. There is no primer to pump; you do have to switch on an electric boost-pump briefly, until the fuel-flow gauge comes off its stop (there is no fuel-pressure gauge), and the engine is started with the mixture control at cut-off. These differences come with the new powerplant, which is Textron Lycoming's IO-360-L2A engine. Normally rated at 135kW (180hp), this fuel-injected piston engine produces only 120kW in the Skyhawk.
With the engine started, we went over the checklist and one item came up as new compared with any previous Skyhawk: testing the annunciator panel. This houses six warning lights: one each warns of low oil pressure and low voltage, and there are two each for low fuel and low vacuum. The fuel-warning lights (one for each tank) signal when a tank's contents fall to 20litres. The low-vacuum lights signal the failure of either of the two vacuum pumps. The left and right pumps are both plumbed to a system which compensates automatically for the loss of either. The new Sigma-Tek directional gyro (DG) and attitude indicator both have warning flags that drop should system vacuum fall too low to spin the gyros reliably.
Taxi and take-off
Once our run-up was complete - there is no carburettor heat to forget, because of fuel-injection - we lined up on the centerline of runway 35 at Independence. The DG was set, as was its heading bug for our course to Wichita, about 140km (75nm) to the north west. There was about a 40í left crosswind to contend with, but well within the 15kt (28km/h) maximum tolerance. The double-pin door latches were set, the vernier throttle given a shove to the panel, and the Skyhawk charged aggressively up the runway. We started to rotate at about 50kt and climbed away almost immediately, with well under 300m (1,000ft) of pavement behind us. First attempts to trim the Skyhawk while climbing brought rather large pitch diversions, at least larger than expected. Manor says that engineers have worked to dampen pitch changes on the production aircraft.
Several pilots with time in the 172R believe that the powerplant change alone is responsible for the two most notable improvements in the Skyhawk's character: reduced noise level and improved overall performance. During our full-power take-off and climb to our heading for Wichita, Manor and I talked without headphones, highlighting the first major difference: sound level. The IO-360-L2A produces its 120kW at a noise-reducing 2,400RPM redline, instead of the 2,700RPM required for the carbureted Lycoming O-320 previously used. That cuts noise output by more than 4dBA, a reduction approaching 70%, says Cessna.
Other factors include better engine muffling, a McCauley propeller designed for the new engine/airframe combination and more acoustic insulation in the 172R, which provides the biggest sound break to the cabin occupants. It is at take-off and cruise power-settings when these little details work best together to allow occupants to talk among themselves, without headphones, at a normal conversational level.
On the second point, horsepower quotations aside, the IO-360-powered Skyhawk does feel stronger. Compared to the O-320-powered aircraft, the take-off rolls delivered by the 172R's larger-displacement engine seemed more aggressive, and the climbs more willing.
All the more impressive was getting these admittedly subjective impressions while the tachometer seemingly loafed between 2,300 and 2,400RPM. For example, as the heading bug glided to the top of the dial, my progressively smaller trim corrections ultimately settled the Skyhawk into a comfortable cruise climb of about 100kt. At that indicated airspeed, the Lycoming pulled us skyward at between 500ft/min (2.54m/s) and 600ft/min. Climbing out at 90kt after our next take-off from Augusta Municipal Airport brought the climb above 800ft/min, and we achieved even better climb performance later.
At no time did engine-speed rise above 2,350RPM. Cessna engineers say that the larger-displacement engine delivers more torque at any RPM than the smaller engine will at the RPM which provides the same horsepower. The IO-360-L2A should provide more torque at 2,400RPM than the O-320 at 2,700RPM, where each produces the same 160hp.
The 172R reinforced my impression at our second stop in a three-legged cross-country trip - an uphill, 760m prairie airstrip called Beaumont Hotel, a private grass runway about 90km east of Wichita. This field is a legend in the region, several generations of pilots having flown to Beaumont (population about 80) for the unique experience of landing on the prairie and taxiing into town to an 1880 cattleman's hotel called the Summit House.
Beaumont Hotel is a challenging runway when the wind is from the north, as it was this day. A slow, steep approach is called for to clear railroad tracks and trees at the south end, where the runway ends at a town street, and the airstrip slopes uphill rather steeply, before levelling off and ending in a deep ditch adjacent to a major rural highway. Leave behind the uphill half and Beaumont shrinks to about 1,200ft.
The 172R retains the Skyhawk's great light-touch landing and respectable short-field characteristics; its slow-flight characteristics shone, as my descending turn to final ended at just under 70kt and a steep approach. A strong flare arrested my descent through rollicking, raucous low-level air and displayed the Skyhawk's soft-field landing trait.
We taxied up Beaumont's 16th Street to the Summit House, parked in front of the 120-year-old wooden water-tower, grabbed coffee and waited for a mild gust front to pass through.
Second leg
We taxied down 16th Street to the south end of Beaumont's Runway 1, and made a left turn on to the threshold. The pre-take-off checklist was completed, 30í of flap selected, brakes set and full power applied. The Skyhawk wasted no time starting its uphill roll over the lumpy prairie. I pulled back on the yoke to about 20í pitch and off she came, showing less than 60kt indicated, before we reached the crest of the uphill slope. We had used about 300m of runway, close to the book figure, going uphill.
Lowering the nose to accelerate to just under 80kt brought a climb of close to 1,000ft/min, and by the time we crossed the departure end of the Beaumont runway we had a comfortable 400ft beneath our gear. Dropping the nose to increase our speed to 100kt indicated as we turned to a heading for Independence and settled the Skyhawk down to about 600ft/min.
Flying normal-field approaches in the revived Skyhawk brought to light little that is significantly different from older 172s, particularly in the handling, which has made the aircraft popular amongst fixed-based operators (FBOs), both in training fleets and as a first purchase.
The new aircraft has two features which probably warrant extra attention. Its electric flaps, for example, have pre-set positions and a gated lever. A gentle nudge to starboard and a downward push moves the flap lever to progressively higher settings: 10í, 20í and 30í. The motor stops the flaps at each setting. As in older 172 aircraft, pilots must be prepared to retrim quickly to counter the Skyhawk's tendency to balloon upward with each addition of flap. The flaps are effective, although Manor advised that the manual calls for no-flap take-offs under normal circumstances.
The other notable item concerns approach speeds. For some reason, perhaps the additional weight in the engine compartment, this Skyhawk seems "slippier" than the O-320-powered versions, as well as more stable once trimmed. Other pilots have reported flying "by-the-numbers" approaches in the new 172 only to watch the runway threshold glide by beneath the wheels as the Skyhawk floats along the runway. We did not experience this phenomenon, perhaps because we flew the approaches 5-10kt slower. In both hard-surface landings we almost matched the numbers by carrying a certain amount of power down the glideslope, then retarding the throttle as we slowed to under 60kt at the threshold. On each occasion Manor's instinct was to take the yoke and arrest a steep-looking approach, only to resist as it became apparent that we were arriving roughly on-target, getting no bounce from the aircraft's leaf-spring main gear.
Flying without headsets is a luxury, but not wearing them has an affect on workload during departures and approaches. While it is an improvement to have so little noise in the cockpit, it was awkward juggling flaps, throttle, mixture, trim and yoke while using the hand-held microphone to transmit position reports in the pattern. Using a set of headphones for departures and arrivals seems a safer, smarter option.
Versatile performer
The new Skyhawk has more potential than as a simple little aircraft for hopping between local points of interest. Thanks again to the powerplant changes, this 172 covers more ground than most comparable aircraft and with a fuel consumption which makes long distances easy.
A tachometer reading of 2,200RPM delivered a true airspeed of about 122kt (our aircraft had not yet had the thermometer installed, so reported outside air temperatures were dialled in to the true-airspeed indicator), while we consumed between 30 and 31l/h, according to the fuel-flow meter mounted in the engine-instrument cluster on the far-left panel. With 200l of useable fuel, Cessna calculates, the 172R's still-air range is 1,075km (using its recommended leaning procedures, allowing for engine start, taxi, take-off, climb and allowing a 45min reserve).
That should be plenty for most owner-pilots wanting to travel cross-country, and that theoretical 1,075km maximum-range trip would be completed in under 5h. A business traveller new to general aviation might find that a respectable pace for a trip of that distance, considering the time involved in flying by airline.
These numbers are moot if the aircraft lacks the equipment needed for maximum utility. Cessna's market research reveals that pilots do not want, and will not buy, stripped-down aircraft. In years past, equipment for visual-flight-rules (VFR) cross-country flying, in- strument-flight-rules (IFR) flying, and Class B and Class C airspace access was optional. Those items added thousands of dollars to base prices and added to the cost of building aircraft.
"Give us value," customers told Cessna, "and we will buy." The manufacturer, meanwhile, decided that standardisation would lower costs. Unlike Skyhawks of the pre-1986 era, therefore, new 172Rs will leave the Independence factory lacking virtually nothing from the available-equipment list. Standard equipment includes new avionics, new safety features and more creature comforts than in all but the most-option laden versions rolled out of the old factory at Strother Field in Kansas.
Equipment includes two types of panel lights inside; navigation, flashing-beacon and wingtip strobes, landing and taxi lights outside; an alternate static source; an avionics master switch; new engine gauges; three-point inertia-reel seat belts all around; and twist-to-adjust air-vent controls. Options are limited to one of two IFR equipment packages. The Nav I package adds a second navigation/communication unit with glideslope and indicator, a VFR global-positioning system (GPS) receiver and an automatic direction-finder at a price of just under $10,000. At just under $15,000 for the Nav II package you get all the Nav I equipment, an IFR-certified GPS plus the required selectors and annunciators, a GPS interface to one navigation indicator, and a single-axis autopilot linked to the navigation radios. A set of three wheel pants (spats), at $1,200, is the sole non-avionics option available.
Single avionics source
Our demonstrator carried the Nav II package, allowing us to touch on all the radios available on the 172R. Cessna has selected AlliedSignal Aerospace as its sole avionics source, and the aircraft is fitted with a suite of AlliedSignal Bendix/King equipment. The company's Olathe, Kansas-based avionics unit developed some all-digital equipment making its first appearance in the new Skyhawk, including the KX-155A navigation/communication radios, KAP-140 autopilot, KT-76C transponder, KMA-26 audio panel and KR 87 ADF.
The cream of avionics equipment on the Skyhawk are the VFR-only KLN-89 GPS navigator and the IFR-approved KLN-89B. Both units provide a huge amount of information, including airport and air-traffic frequencies, and a moving map that can be scaled from 9km to 925km. Two hours and 350km or so of cross-country flying was scarcely enough to scratch the surface of the KLN-89B's capabilities. Much the same can be said for the rest of the avionics, which appear to be more than just new faceplates. For example, the KT-76C transponder trades off the four old numeric dials for eight buttons which are pushed in order of code entry. Push a button labelled "VFR", and "1200"- the standard squawk for VFR flight - appears on the transponder's gas-discharge display. The altitude that the transponder reports on each response can be displayed on the GPS.
The KMA-126 audio panel controls the Skyhawk's new four-place intercom system, the three-light marker-beacon receiver and nav/com use. The KMA 126 uses lit push-buttons for radio selections, including intercom options for including or isolating passengers and pilot and muting the marker-beacon receiver's audio tones. The KX-155A nav/com has a new stuck-mike transmitter cut-off, new frequency memory-storage and new built-in timer.
The KAP-140 is another new, digital-display system which, with the push of a button, can track a heading off the directional gyro, fly the aircraft on a course dictated by the nav radio or GPS. Unlike previous autopilots which lost steering guidance upon a vacuum-pump failure, the KAP-140 operates off the electric turn co-ordinator. The autopilot was the sole item that did not seem ready for flight, failing to lock on to a course through both heading and nav functions, whether the steering source was the KX-155A, KLN-89B or the turn co-ordinator. AlliedSignal is working to iron out these bugs in the prototype unit aboard our aircraft.
One other minor problem surfaced during our time in the 172R, one that demonstrated some of the new thinking of Cessna when it built the Skyhawk. The fuel gauge for the left tank periodically would drop to zero then return to an appropriate fuel-load indication. According to Manor, maintenance technicians suspected a short somewhere in the fuel-indication-system wiring. The indicator is designed to react to such a fault by dropping to zero rather than some intermediate level. "That's the pilot's clue that something is wrong," Manor says. "Then the smart thing to do is to land and have a mechanic find out what the problem is."
Lessons learned
Cessna has applied several lessons learned in the field, such as equipping its singles with larger, slower-turning engines, dual vacuum-pumps, warning systems and better vents. The 172R is a product born out of market research - in this case, from among both existing and prospective pilots. Cessna chairman Russ Meyer has long noted that aircraft must better reflect the cars that people drive and the quality they expect from big-dollar purchases, if general-aviation is to have any hope of recruiting new pilots.
By delivering aircraft equipped ready for use, instead of needing expensive optional equipment or aftermarket upgrades, Cessna can focus its manufacturing processes on consistency, quality and low cost, rather than on incorporating an array of options which makes each aircraft different. With a list price, fully equipped, which barely reaches $140,000, Cessna has produced a Skyhawk that seems up to its price tag in quality, performance, fit and finish.
That should help the new 172R succeed in its primary mission: to revive Cessna's single-engine business with a product equally suited to being rental-ramp workhorse for FBOs, a training mount for flight schools, a personal aircraft for the amateur aviator and a productive entry-level aerial transport for the business owner-pilot. Now it is up to Cessna's new marketing team to pull in the sales that can move 900 to 1,000 Skyhawks a year off the Independence assembly line. The new Skyhawk is definitely ready for business.
Source: Flight International
