The Italian Aerospace Information Web
by Aeromedia - corso Giambone 46/18 - 10135 Torino (Italy)

First Flight of the Cessna 180 Skywagon Fifty Years ago

The first flight of the prototype Cessna 180 (N41697) took place on May 26, 1952 with test pilot William Thompson at the controls. The aircraft was a more powerful version of the previous Cessna 170 model. The 180, baptized Skywagon in 1963, was produced until 1981 for a total of 6,193 items in successive variants. The airframe is all-metal with a semi-monocoque structure with external aluminium alloy sheets riveted to formers and spars. Until 1963 it was a four-seater aircraft with two windows on each side. The initial variants were fitted with a 225 HP (168 kW) Continental O-470-A engine driving a metal two-bladed constant-speed propeller.

The new aircraft was the ideal solution to swiftly connect the sparse agricultural settlements in the great plains of central USA. The "wagon" was by no means the horse-drawn carriage typical of the Far-West era. The Cessna 180, with its long main undercarriage legs, looked like an elegant and gritty horse, still today the mount of the true cowboys. It is however, a matter of facts that a somewhat complicated procedure is necessary to get in the cabin.

The Cessna 180 gained recognition in 1964 when Geraldine Mock was the first woman to fly around the world with her "Spirit of Columbus". Today it is on display at the Steven Udvar-Hazy Center, the Washington Airport branch of the National Air and Space Museum.

In the picture: Cessna 180 Skywagon N8022X (c/n 30637 built in 1953), based in Switzerland, lands at Turin/Aeritalia airport on March 25, 2025. (Aeromedia)

(Aeromedia, May 2022)