The Cessna 187 was a light aircraft proposed by American manufacturer
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 ...
in the 1970s. As the newer
Model 177 had been intended to replace 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 ...
, so the 187 was intended to replace the
182
Year 182 ( CLXXXII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sura and Rufus (or, less frequently, year 935 ''Ab urbe condita'') ...
.
Design
The Model 187 shape was similar to the 177, with a high
cantilever
A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...
wing (its design was a mix of the cantilever wings on the 177 and the
210
Year 210 ( CCX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Faustinus and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 963 ''Ab urbe condita ...
),
all-moving tailplane
A stabilator is a fully movable aircraft horizontal stabilizer. It serves the usual functions of longitudinal stability, control and stick force requirements otherwise performed by the separate parts of a conventional horizontal stabilizer and el ...
, and tubular
main landing gear struts. In a departure from the 177 approach, the 187's stabilator was mounted atop the
vertical tail in a
T-tail
A T-tail is an empennage configuration in which the tailplane is mounted to the top of the fin. The arrangement looks like the capital letter T, hence the name. The T-tail differs from the standard configuration in which the tailplane is ...
configuration.
Cabin doors on the 187 resembled the wide doors of the 177, and since there was no wing strut to impede its movement, the door opened to more than 90°. The
windshield
The windshield (North American English) or windscreen (Commonwealth English) of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike, truck, train, boat or streetcar is the front window, which provides visibility while protecting occupants from the elements. Mo ...
was more highly sloped than that of the 182, similar to the deep slope of the 177 windshield. The aft fuselage included a rear window with slope similar to that of the 177. There was room for four people, and a baggage area, with a separate access door on the pilot's (left) side. The engine was the same as the 182's engine, the
Continental O-470 which delivered , with an
constant-speed propeller.
Development
Prototype stage
The program entered initial design in 1965, before the
Model 177 had been officially introduced. Construction of the first prototype began in early 1968. Only one flying aircraft, with serial number 666 and tail number N7167C, was completed. Static test articles were also constructed, but were not tested to their full strength before the program was canceled.
First flight was on 22 April 1968.
Program cancellation
There were a few problems during
flight testing, such as blanking and partial stalling of the stabilator during
stalls, an empty weight greater than that of the airplane it was intended to replace, and
noseheaviness. However, the greatest obstacle to the program's acceptance was that the more complex wing's manufacturing cost would have pushed the aircraft price out of the acceptable marketing niche. The program was therefore canceled and the prototype was destroyed that same year.
[ Phillips, Edward H.: ''Wings of Cessna, Model 120 to the Citation III'', Flying Books, 1986. ]
See also
References
{{Cessna
Abandoned civil aircraft projects of the United States
187
Year 187 ( CLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Quintius and Aelianus (or, less frequently, year 940 ''Ab urbe c ...
High-wing aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
1960s United States civil aircraft
T-tail aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1968