The Cessna 170 is an American single-engine, four seat,
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
aircraft produced by the Cessna Aircraft Company between 1948 and 1956.
It is the predecessor of the
Cessna 172
The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company.most produced aircraft
This is a list of the most-produced aircraft types whose numbers exceed or exceeded 5,000. Any and all types of aircraft qualify, including airplanes, airships, balloons, gliders (sailplanes), helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorc ...
in history, which replaced the 170 in production in 1956.
Development
170
In late 1948, Cessna began sales of the 170, with a metal fuselage and tail and fabric-covered constant-chord wings. These earliest 170s were four-seat versions of the popular 140 with a more powerful Continental C145-2 and an extra interconnected fuel tank in one wing for a total of 36 gallons in three tanks. Like the 140, they were constructed of metal with fabric-covered wings supported by a "V" strut.
170A
In 1949, Cessna began marketing the 170A, an all-metal 170 with zero- dihedral wing tapered outboard of the slightly-enlarged plain flaps with 50 degrees maximum deflection, two 21 gallon fuel tanks, and a single strut replacing the "V" strut of the 170. This and subsequent versions of the 170 shared the fin/rudder shape of the larger Cessna 190 and
195
Year 195 ( CXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Scrapula and Clemens (or, less frequently, year 948 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 195 f ...
models.
305
In 1950, the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
,
Army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
and
Marines
Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...
began using the military variant of the 170, the Model 305, designated the L-19 and later
O-1 Bird Dog
The Cessna O-1 Bird Dog is a Liaison aircraft, liaison and observation aircraft that first flew on December 14, 1949, and entered service in 1950 as the L-19 in the Korean War. It went to serve in many branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, was no ...
by the military. It was used as a
forward air control
Forward air control is the provision of guidance to close air support (CAS) aircraft intended to ensure that their attack hits the intended target and does not injure friendly troops. This task is carried out by a forward air controller (FAC).
...
and
reconnaissance
In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...
aircraft. The Bird Dog was extensively redesigned from the basic 170 and included a revised tandem-seat fuselage and a wing with large modified Fowler flaps that deployed up to 60°.
170B
In 1952, the Cessna 170B was introduced, featuring a new wing tapered outboard of the flaps, incorporating dihedral similar to the military version. The B model was equipped with very effective modified Fowler (slotted, rearward-traveling) wing flaps which deflect up to 40°,Phillips 1986, p. 15 adapted from the C-305/Bird Dog, a wing design that lives on in the Cessna light singles of today (constant NACA 2412 section with a chord of from centerline to (the outboard end of the flaps), then tapering to NACA 2412 section chord at 208 inches from centerline, with three-degree washout across the tapered section). The 170B model also included a new tailplane, a revised tailwheel bracket, and other refinements over the 170 and 170A. It was marketed in 1952 for $7245.
In 1955, the previously elliptical rear side windows were changed to a squarer design.
170C
The sole 170C, registered N37892 (c/n 609), was built in November 1954 with a redesigned squared vertical stabilizer. No production followed, and the prototype was converted to 170B standard with a rounded tail in January 1956. However, the 170C was developed into the
Cessna 172
The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company.
Experimental
In 1958, Cessna experimented with a belt driven 145 hp Continental engine. The company completed 1000 hours of test flying. The belt drive reduced vibration, engine noise and propeller noise. A 92 inch propeller with 70 degrees of pitch improved the rate of climb 12 percent. The belts used were developed by
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturer headquartered in Akron, Ohio. Goodyear manufactures tires for passenger vehicles, aviation, commercial trucks, military and police vehicles, motorcycles, recreati ...
and were 3/8-inch wide, 7/16-inch deep, and 41 inches long.
Successor
The 170 is equipped with
conventional landing gear
Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft Landing gear, undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the Center of gravity of an aircraft, center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail ...
, which is more challenging to land than
tricycle landing gear
Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', that is arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has one or more nose wheels in a single front undercarriage and two or more main wheels slightly aft of th ...
. In 1956, Cessna introduced a replacement for the 170 that was essentially a nosewheel-equipped 170B with a square tailfin, designated the 172. 170 production was halted soon after the 172 became available.
Model 309 and 319
Between 1951 and 1955, Cessna used modifications of the 170 and its derivative, the U.S. Army L-19, as test beds for
boundary layer control
In engineering, boundary layer control refers to methods of controlling the behaviour of fluid flow boundary layers.
It may be desirable to reduce flow separation on fast vehicles to reduce the size of the wake (streamlining), which may reduce ...
research, under contract to the Office of Naval Research and the Army Transportation Corps, designating them as the models 309 and 319. The project was done in conjunction with the University of Wichita which conducted extensive wind tunnel tests of the concept. The model 309 utilized the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Arado lift-increasing system in which a jet pump inside the wing sucked in stagnant air from the flap area, energized it and blew the higher-speed air over the ailerons. Various chemicals and enhancements were used to power the jet pump. Better results were obtained by departing from the Arado jet pump method and using an engine-driven generator to power electric motors driving axial fans to move the internal air.Thompson, 1991,
This concept was adopted on the Model 319 but substituted an engine-driven hydraulic pump to drive hydraulic-powered axial fans. This model was more successful and resulted in the highest lift capacity, as measured by the maximum lift coefficient, recorded up to that time. The 319 demonstrated the capability of taking off in , landing in and clearing a obstacle in . The aircraft had a stall speed of .
The 309 and 319 were meant to be research aircraft only, and no plans were developed to incorporate boundary layer control technology in then-current Cessna models. Others were also working on the concept, and it was ultimately incorporated into the
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic interceptor. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the " Century Series" of fighter aircraft for the United States Air Force (USAF), it was developed into an ...
."Leading Edge Aeronautical Research on the Plains", Air Facts Journal, February 22, 2013 by Harry Clements
Operators
Civilian
;
*
Mississippi State University
Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...
– Model 319
Military
;
*
Dominican Army
The Dominican Army (), is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Dominican Republic, together with the Dominican Navy, Navy and the Dominican Air Force, Air Force.
The Dominican army with 28,750 active duty personnel consists of s ...
;
*
Air Force of El Salvador
The Salvadoran Air Force (, abbreviated FAS) is the air force branch of the Armed Forces of El Salvador.
History
Early history
The Salvadoran Army Air Force was formed on 20 March 1923 during a period of heavy interest in aviation in El ...
Honduran Air Force
The Honduras Air Force (, sometimes abbreviated to FAH in English) is the air force of Honduras. As such it is the air power arm of the Honduras Armed Forces.
History
The first Honduras military flying took place on 18 April 1921 in a Bristo ...
;
*
Royal Thai Armed Forces
The Royal Thai Armed Forces (RTARF; ; ) are the armed forces of the Kingdom of Thailand.
The Highest Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces (จอมทัพไทย; ) is the King of Thailand. The armed forces are managed by the Minist ...
170
Year 170 ( CLXX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Clarus and Cornelius (or, less frequently, year 923 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 170 for this yea ...