Construction Tips!   Be sure the upper wing surfaces are nicely rolled toward the leading edge before gluing the trailing edge.   Taken slowly and smartly, the upper fuselage and wing connection will give you no grief & come out right nicely.

The Cessna 150/152 is the most used pilot trainer in the world. Some 56,000 of these popular machines have been manufactured by
Cessna Inc which are in service throughout the world by virtually all western and some eastern flying training organizations.

Production began in August1958 and by the time it ended during l977 a total of 23,836 had been built, this figure including 1,754 built in France by Reims Aviation under the designation Helms F-hO. Just before the end of production the aircraft had been available in Model 150 Standard, Commuter, Commuter II and Aerobet versions.

The differences between the first three represented varying standards of installed equipment, and there was also a wide range of optional avionics and equipment available. The acrobat embodied structural changes permitting a licence in the Acrobatic category for load factors of +6g and -3g at full gross weight, its aerobatic capability allowing such manoeuvres as aileron, barrel and snap rolls, chandelles, loops and vertical reverses.

In 1977, the Cessna 150 range was replaced on the production lines by the basically similar Cessna Model 152. Improvements included a more powerful Avco Lycoming 0-235 engine giving 80.5-kW (108-hp), plus installation and cowling changes to reduce engine noise and vibration, together with a McCauley propeller of a modified blade section. Between 1977 and 1986 the aircraft was available in four versions; the standard Model 152, the slightly heavier Model 152 II with a package of factory installed avionics and omni-directional light beacon, the further improved Model 152 Trainer with other improvements including an intercom system and transponder, and the Model 152 Aerobat with the same aerobatic capabilities as the 150 Aerobat. When production ceased in 1986,7,482 Model l52 and Aerobats had been produced including 640 built under license in France by Reims Aviation.

At the same time as the deluxe version of the Model 175 appeared as the Skylark, a similar deluxe version of the Model 172 was introduced under the name Skyhawk. Further improvements were made in 1960, with the provision of a new rear fuselage (slimmer and with rear windows) and a stylish swept vettical tail. These modifications were also applied to the Skyhawk and the Skyhawk II, which featured yet more comprehensive equipment, adding sophisticated navigation and communication equipment to blind-ftying instrumentation found in the Skyhawk. In March1956 Cessna announced a new Model 182, which was an addition to the standard Skyhawk family, but powered by a 172 -230-hp Continental 0-470-S. It was available in Standard, Skylane and Skylane II versions.

Since that time there has been continuing development and several changes and versions available in 1982 included the Model 172 Skyhawk and Skyhawk II, the Cutlass RG and Cutlass RG II which is basically a re-engineered development of the earlier Model 120 The Model 170 proved popular, but the type's real success started in 1953 when Cessna introduced the Model 17CR: this was powered, like its predecessor, by the 108-kW (145hp( Continental C0145-2 air-tooled piston engine, but incorporated the slotted Fowler flaps pioneered for Cessna's Model 305. With these efficient flaps the field and low-speed performance of the craft.