The Cessna 175 Skylark is a four-seat, single-engine, high-wing airplane produced by

Cessna Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturing c ...

between 1958 and 1962.

Production history

The 175 was designed to fill a niche between 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.

and the faster

Cessna 182 The Cessna 182 Skylane is an American four-seat, single-engined light airplane built by Cessna of Wichita, Kansas. It has the option of adding two child seats in the baggage area. Introduced in 1956, the 182 has been produced in a ...

. The engine of the 175, a geared version of the O-300 (

Continental GO-300 The Continental O-300 and the C145 are a family of air-cooled flat-6 aircraft piston engines built by Teledyne Continental Motors.Christy, Joe: ''Engines for Homebuilt Aircraft & Ultralights'', pages 60-63. TAB Books, 1983. First produced in ...

) used in the 172, is rated at 175 hp (130 kW), or 30 hp (22 kW) more than the 172 engine. Between 1958 and 1962, a total of 2,106 were built. The basic airplane was marketed as the 175, and the plane with a package of optional equipment and overall paint (a partial paint scheme was used on the basic model) was marketed as the Skylark.

Design

The airframe of the 175 is all metal, constructed of

aluminum alloy An aluminium alloy (or aluminum alloy; see spelling differences) is an alloy in which aluminium (Al) is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon, tin, nickel and zinc. There are two principal ...

. The fuselage is a

semi-monocoque The term semi-monocoque or semimonocoque refers to a stressed shell structure that is similar to a true monocoque, but which derives at least some of its strength from conventional reinforcement. Semi-monocoque construction is used for, among ot ...

structure, with exterior skin sheets riveted to

former A former is an object, such as a template, gauge or cutting die, which is used to form something such as a boat's hull. Typically, a former gives shape to a structure that may have complex curvature. A former may become an integral part of the ...

s and

longeron In engineering, a longeron and stringer is the load-bearing component of a framework. The term is commonly used in connection with aircraft fuselages and automobile chassis. Longerons are used in conjunction with stringers to form structural ...

s. The strut-braced wings, likewise, are constructed of exterior skin sheets riveted to

spars The United States Coast Guard (USCG) Women's Reserve, also known as the SPARS (SPARS was the acronym for "Semper Paratus—Always Ready"), was the women's branch of the United States Coast Guard Reserve. It was established by the United States ...

and

ribs The rib cage, as an enclosure that comprises the ribs, vertebral column and sternum in the thorax of most vertebrates, protects vital organs such as the heart, lungs and great vessels. The sternum, together known as the thoracic cage, is a semi- ...

. The landing gear of the 175 is in a

tricycle A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) three-wheeled vehicle. Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for passenger transport) and freight trikes, ...

arrangement, with main gear legs made of spring steel, along with a steerable nosewheel connected through an oleo strut used for shock absorption. While it incorporates airframe changes to accommodate an increased gross weight, the 175 is similar in appearance to the 172 of the same vintage. The most noticeable difference is the distinctive hump in the forward cowling of later series airplanes to accommodate the engine's reduction gear. Although externally identical to the 172, the 175 was built to a different type certificate, although most parts aft of the firewall are interchangeable.''Model 172 & 175 Series Parts Catalog (1956–1962)'' January 22, 1995 Cessna Aircraft Company, Wichita Kansas USA The 172XP and T-41B/C/D Mescalero share the 175 type certificate.

The GO-300 engine

An unusual feature of the 175 is the geared

engine. Whereas most single-engine airplanes use direct drive, this engine drives the propeller through a reducing

gearbox Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differe ...

, so the engine runs at 3200 rpm to turn the propeller at 2400 rpm (4:3). The GO-300 engine suffered reliability problems and helped give the 175 a poor reputation. Some Skylarks flying today have been converted to larger-displacement direct-drive enginesChristy, Joe: ''Engines for Homebuilt Aircraft & Ultralights'', pages 60–63. TAB Books, 1983. though almost 90% still retain the GO-300. The GO-300's tainted reputation is largely undeserved, since its problems were the result of pilots who were unfamiliar with gear reduction engines, simply not operating the engine at the higher RPMs specified in the C-175 Pilot's Operating Handbook. Pilots unfamiliar with the engine often operate the engine at the low RPM settings (2300–2700) appropriate to direct-drive engines, while the 175's Operating Handbook calls for cruising at 2900 RPM. The low RPM causes harmonic vibration in the reduction gear between the

quill shaft A quill is a writing tool made from a moulted flight feather (preferably a primary wing-feather) of a large bird. Quills were used for writing with ink before the invention of the dip pen, the metal- nibbed pen, the fountain pen, and, eventuall ...

(that turned the propeller) and crankshaft, and the low power results in low airspeeds that prevents the engine's air-cooling system from operating effectively, resulting in chronic reliability problems for engines not operated at the recommended power settings.

Variants

Many of the higher-powered versions of the

172 Year 172 ( CLXXII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scipio and Maximus (or, less frequently, year 925 '' Ab urbe condita ...

in fact belong to the 175 type design, such as the P172D Powermatic; the military T-41B, -C, and -D; the R172J and R172K Hawk XP; and the retractable-gear 172RG. ;175 Skylark :Powered by the Continental GO-300A or -300C engine, gross weight ,

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

14 January 1958 ;175A Skylark :Powered by the Continental GO-300C or -300D engine, landplane gross weight , seaplane gross weight , certified 28 August 1959 ;175B Skylark :Powered by the Continental GO-300C or -300D engine, landplane gross weight , seaplane gross weight , certified 14 June 1960 ;175C Skylark :Powered by the Continental GO-300E, gross weight , certified 18 September 1961, with a

constant-speed propeller In aeronautics, a variable-pitch propeller is a type of propeller (airscrew) with blades that can be rotated around their long axis to change the blade pitch. A controllable-pitch propeller is one where the pitch is controlled manually by the p ...

standard. Base price $14,125 ;P172D Powermatic Skyhawk :Powered by the Continental GO-300E and a cruise speed faster than the standard 172D. In reality this was not a new model, but a 175 Skylark that had been renamed for its last year of production. The Skylark had gained a reputation for poor engine reliability, and the renaming of it as a 172 was a marketing attempt to regain sales through

rebranding Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, concept or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors ...

. The move was not a success, and neither the 1963 Powermatic nor the Skylark were produced again after the 1963 model year.Clarke, Bill: ''The Cessna 172'' First Edition, pages 31–97. TAB Books, 1987. Cessna175ASkylark02

Specifications (Cessna 175C)

References

External links

* {{Cessna 175 High-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft 1950s United States civil utility aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1958