By: Norm Goyer
Thousands of pilots the world over have earned their wings in a Cessna 150 or a 152. This tiny, cramped, but inexpensive two-place primary trainer has been the favorite of flight schools since it was introduced in 1958. Hundreds of them are still in use at airports all over the world. The reasons are many; probably the main one is that the folks at Cessna did their homework on the design so that it meets all the requirements for both student pilots and flying schools. To be a good trainer, an airplane must be a good stepping stone to larger aircraft. A good trainer cannot stray from the handling parameters of modern general aviation aircraft. For instance, as much as I like Ercoupes, it does not prepare a student pilot to fly Cessnas or Pipers; it teaches you to fly “Scarecoupes”; in fact, your Private Certificate states that you are restricted to the Ercoupe category, aircraft with two controls, elevator and ailerons. A pilot who obtained a license in a Cessna 150 can step up into any other standard aircraft and his reactions will be consistent with the larger aircraft’s control system. Another reason why the 150 series was an instant success was that it evolved from the very successful Cessna 120/140 earlier tail dragger which sealed the doom of tube-and-fabric aircraft, just after World War II ended.
|
The first Cessna 150s had a straight-tail and no rear window.
When the new all-metal Cessna 120 series was introduced in 1947, I had rented Cubs, T’crafts and Champs at LaFleur Airport in Northampton, Massachusetts. There were two airports in our small town. The second one was owned by Roger Atwood, now 86 years old and still flying. Roger and his late wife wife “Dotty” took on the Cessna franchise and had a Cessna 120 and a Cessna 140 on the flight line. The C-140 had flaps, an electrical system, with a starter, and an additional side window. These airplanes spelled the beginning of the end for Cubs and Champs as trainers. The side-by-side seating was ideal for training; plus the sun and weather didn’t raise as much havoc as it did with tube-and-fabric airframes.
The next revision had a rear window and retained the straight tail.
In 1958, Cessna, who always seemed to do their homework, decided it was time to upgrade its primary trainer with the super-popular modifications that were so successful with the new Cessna 172. This tricycle-gear four-place was an upgrade from the Cessna 170 four-passenger tail dragger. The new C-150 two-place trainer was all metal, had a “Land O-Matic” tricycle gear landing-gear system and huge “Para-Lift” barn door flaps that could be dropped to 40 degrees. Cessna even introduced the tubeless 5:00 X 5 tires on all three wheels. The flight schools loved this feature; less inventory. The engine was changed to the Continental O-200 100 hp four-cylinder engine. Cessna even offered a beefed-up Cessna 150 Aerobat, certified for minor aerobatics. The first 150s weren’t any beauty queens with their upright vertical stabilizer and razor-back fuselage, actually very similar to a Cessna 120 on a tricycle gear. Nobody seemed to care about the “ugly duckling” look, and students and flight schools flocked to purchase the new 150.
Next, a raked tail was added, giving the aircraft a longer, sleeker look.
Cessna cranked out over 22,000 of the 150 trainer while Rheims, in France, built another 1,758 versions. After many years of 150 production, Cessna knew the design needed an update, due to changing fuel formulations. There were also certain flight characteristics of the 150 that needed to be upgraded for a new generation of student pilots.
The stock panel on the 150 had room for flight, and engine instruments and avionics.
In 1977, Cessna started delivering the new Cessna 152. The plane now had a 110 hp Lycoming Blue Streak engine that could use 100LL as well as 100 octane. The flaps were restricted to a 30-degree deployment. This was one problem with the 150; under certain conditions, a 40-degree flap extension could cause landing problems and go-around problems. A new McCauley (now owned by Cessna) gull-wing propeller increased the speed by two knots. The 150 used a standard 12 volt battery; the new Cessna 152 used a 28 volt electrical system which allowed for faster cranking and had the power for addition electronics. The real reason was probably that all of the other Cessna aircraft used the 28 volt system. The flight performance was still in the 150’s ballpark but was certainly acceptable for a primary trainer. The 152 would take off in 725 feet, a 433 pound payload (useful load 589 pounds), cruised at 107 knots (123 mph) and had a range of 350 nautical miles. Cessna built a total of 6,747 152s before the plug was pulled in 1985. It’s now been almost 25 years since the last 152 came off the production line, yet this aircraft is still one of the most popular trainers in the world. It wasn’t perfect, but it sure produced thousands of good pilots.
Many C-150s were changed into tail-draggers using the Texas Taildragger STCs.
Click Here to Read the Entire Article
If any readers have requests for special topics please let us know. Email us at theradar@acmp.com