AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2023 - 35

AOPA SWEEPSTAKES /
History of the Cessna 170
BY CAYLA MCLEOD HUNT
PICTURE THIS: it's February
1948, and you just picked up
the latest edition of Flying
magazine (in which AOPA
Pilot was published as a special
section until 1958) and
you read: " The big news in
the way of completely new
aircraft at Cessna this year
is the Model 170, a fourplace
plane powered by a
145 horsepower Continental
engine. Selling at $5,475, this
new 170 is the low-cost fourplacer
to complete Cessna's
full line. "
What a time to be alive.
Aside from a new airplane
selling for under $6,000,
this was also years before
Cessna 172s crisscrossed
across every airport ramp.
Tailwheel flying was the
norm, and every manufacturer was racing
to produce the best taildragger money
could buy.
The original Cessna 170, affectionU.S.
Forest Service pilot John F. Wear taxiing an aerial detection survey Cessna 170B at the Hillsboro airport
in Oregon in 1954.
ately referred to as the ragwing, first rolled
off the assembly line in Wichita, Kansas,
in February 1948. The airplane did not
have a dorsal fin, featured fabric-covered
V-strutted wings, and housed three Cessna
140 fuel tanks to accommodate 33.5 gallons
of fuel. Cessna built 714 of these 170s
before introducing the 170A in 1948.
The 170A, referred to as the straight
wing, featured a dorsal fin from the
Cessna 195, a metal wing with square
tips, single wing struts, and two 21-gallon
tanks. A-model flaps are also larger than
the straight 170's and can extend an extra
20 degrees.
In 1952, Cessna introduced the most
popular variant of the 170, the 170B. The
most notable change from the 170/170A
models is the " Para-lift " wings, a term
coined by Cessna. These barn door flaps
are large, slotted, semi-Fowler designs that
were originally used on military observation
aircraft such as Cessna's L-19 Bird
Dog. Original Cessna 170B flaps have four
settings: 0, 20, 30, and 40 degrees. In 1955
Cessna added a 10-degree flap setting.
In addition to three more degrees of
dihedral, 170B wings have more twist
than the preceding models. The B models
are also noticeably lighter on the controls
thanks to control balance weights.
With the introduction of the highly
capable Cessna 180 in 1953 and the all-new
tricycle-gear Cessna 172 in 1956, Cessna
170s soon became old news. With 1,100
Cessna 172s being purchased in the first
year alone, Cessna only continued to produce
the 170B until it ran out of parts. The
last B models to roll off Cessna's assembly
line featured a square rear window unlike
the rounded window of the earlier models.
In 66 years since a Cessna 170 was produced,
fewer than half of the original 5,136
airplanes grace our friendly skies. The
majority have been lost in simple accidents
like ground loops and hard landings.
Although only a couple thousand
of these airplanes are currently flying
(including the AOPA Sweepstakes aircraft,
a 1953 Cessna 170B), it is still a
fan-favorite among many pilots for their
relatively affordable entry price, low maintenance
cost, ability to carry up to three
passengers, and for their relatively simple
handling characteristics.
cayla.mcleod@aopa.org
No purchase or contribution
necessary to enter or win. Void
where prohibited. Ends 11:59
PM ET on 12/29/23. Grand Prize
winner must be certificated by
the U.S. FAA as of 12/29/23.
For complete details/eligibility
requirements/rules, visit
aopa.org/sweeps. Sponsor: AOPA
AOPA PILOT / January 2023
35
USDA FOREST SERVICE, PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGION, STATE AND PRIVATE FORESTRY, FOREST HEALTH PROTECTION

http://www.aopa.org/sweeps

AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2023

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