Cessna 150


The Cessna 150 is a two-seat tricycle gear general aviation airplane that was designed for flight training, touring and personal use. In 1977, it was succeeded in production by the Cessna 152, a minor modification to the original design.
The Cessna 150 is the fifth most produced aircraft ever, with 23,839 produced. The Cessna 150 was offered for sale in named configurations that included the Standard basic model, the Trainer with dual controls, and the deluxe Commuter, along with special options for these known as Patroller options. Later, these configurations were joined by the top-end Commuter II and the aerobatic Aerobat models.
In 2007, Cessna announced a successor to the Model 150 and 152, the Model 162 Skycatcher.

Development

In the mid-1950s, Cessna Aircraft Company began development of a successor to the popular Cessna 140 which finished production in 1951. The resulting 142 was based on the 140, but had tricycle landing gear, which gives the aircraft more docile ground handling than the tailwheel landing gear of the 140; Cessna also replaced the rounded tips of the wings and empennage with more modern-looking, squared-off tips, and the narrow, hinged wing flaps of the 140 were replaced by larger, far more effective Fowler flaps.
The Cessna 142 prototype first flew on September 12, 1957, shortly before the aircraft was renamed to Model 150 in October. Production commenced in September 1958 at Cessna's Wichita, Kansas, plant. 1,764 aircraft were also produced by Reims Aviation under license in France. These French manufactured 150s were designated Reims F150 or Reims-Cessna F150, the "F" indicating they were built in France.
American-made 150s were all produced with the Continental O-200-A engine of. Most Reims-built aircraft are powered by a Continental O-200-A built under license by Rolls-Royce, but some have the Rolls-Royce-built version of the Continental O-240-A.
All models from 1966 onwards have larger doors and increased baggage space. With the 1967 Model 150G, the doors were bowed outwards on each side to provide more cabin elbow room.
The 150 was succeeded in the summer of 1977 by the closely related Cessna 152. The 152 is more economical to operate due to the increased TBO of the Lycoming O-235 engine. The 152 had its flap travel limited to 30 degrees, from the 150's 40 degree flap deflection, for better climb with full flaps and the maximum certified gross weight was increased from 1,600 lb on the 150 to 1670 lb on the 152. Production of the 152 ended in 1985 when manufacturing of all Cessna piston singles was suspended.

Production

A total of 22,138 Cessna 150s were built in the United States, including 21,404 Commuters and 734 Aerobats. Reims Aviation completed 1,764 F150s, of which 1,428 were Commuters and 336 were Aerobats. A Reims affiliate in Argentina also assembled 47 F150s, including 38 Commuters and 9 Aerobats.
Of all the Cessna 150/152 models, the 1966 model year was the most plentiful with 3,067 1966 Cessna 150s produced. This was the first year the aircraft featured a swept tail fin, increased baggage area and electrically operated flaps.

Variants

''Cessna has historically used model years like the U.S. automobile industry, with new models typically being introduced a few months prior to the actual calendar year.''

Modifications available

There are hundreds of modifications available for the Cessna 150. Some of the most frequently installed include:
  • Vortex generators and STOL kits that reduce the stall speed of the plane.
  • Flap gap seals to reduce drag and increase rate of climb.
  • Different wing tips, some of which claim various cruise speed increases and stall speed reductions.
  • Auto fuel STCs, which permit the use of automobile fuel instead of the more expensive aviation fuel.
  • Larger engines, up to.
  • Taildragger landing gear.
  • Auxiliary fuel tanks for larger capacity.
  • Door catches to replace the factory ones that often fail in service.
  • Belly fuel drain valves to drain fuel from the lowest point in the fuel system.
The Aviat 150 is an overhauled and rebuilt Cessna 150 by Aviat.

Noteworthy flights

  • On September 12, 1994, Frank Eugene Corder intentionally crashed a Cessna 150L onto the South Lawn of the White House against the south wall of the Executive Mansion, in an apparent suicide. Corder was killed, but no one else was injured and damage to property on the ground was minimal.
  • In 1996, a Cessna 150 was flown from the United States to South Africa in several stages, crossing the Atlantic along the way. An extra 60 gallon fuel tank was installed and the plane took off over gross weight.

    Operators

Civil

The aircraft is popular with flying schools as well as private individuals.

Military

  • Burundi Air Force
  • Congo Democratic Air Force
  • Ecuadorian Air Force
  • Haitian Air Corps
  • Ivory Coast Air Force
  • Liberian Army
  • Mexican Naval Aviation
  • Paraguayan Naval Aviation
  • Somali Air Force
  • Sri Lanka Air Force
  • United States Air Force Academy

    Notable accidents

  • 27 March 1968: Ozark Air Lines Flight 965, a Douglas DC-9-15, collided with a 150F, aircraft registration N8669G, approximately north of Lambert–St. Louis Municipal Airport, St. Louis, Missouri, while both aircraft were approaching runway 17. The Cessna was destroyed and both of its occupants were killed. The DC-9 sustained light damage and was able to land safely; none of its 44 passengers or five crewmembers were injured. The accident was attributed to inadequate visual flight rules procedures at the airport, the failure of the DC-9 pilots to notice the Cessna, and poor communications between air traffic control and the Cessna pilots.
  • 4 August 1968: Cessna 150F N8742S collided with North Central Airlines Flight 261, a Convair CV-580, southwest of General Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at, as the northbound Convair was on approach to runway 7R. The cabin section of the Cessna became embedded in the Convair's forward baggage compartment. The Convair lost electrical power and its right engine was shut down due to a damaged propeller; the captain completed a successful emergency landing six minutes later. All three occupants aboard the Cessna were killed and the first officer on the Convair was seriously injured, but the other three crew and eight passengers were uninjured. The accident was attributed to the inability of the Convair 580 flight crew to see the Cessna in sufficient time to take evasive action, despite having been provided with three radar traffic advisories. Contributing factors were heavy insect smears on the Convair's cockpit windows, haze, smoke and sun glare, and the Cessna's inconspicuous color and its lack of relative motion as the two aircraft converged.
  • 9 January 1971: 150J N60942 collided with American Airlines Flight 30, a Boeing 707-323C, at about Edison, New Jersey, while the 707 was on approach to Newark Airport. The Cessna ran head-on into the 707's outer left wing and went out of control due to impact damage, crashing and killing both its occupants. The 707, although itself damaged, landed safely in Newark; there were no injuries among its 14 passengers and 7 crew. The National Transportation Safety Board found the cause to be "the inability of the crews of both aircraft to see and avoid each other while operating in a system which permits VFR aircraft to operate up to 3,000 feet on random headings and altitudes in a congested area under conditions of reduced visibility."
  • 4 August 1971: 150J N61011 collided with Continental Air Lines Flight 712, a Boeing 707-324C, at about over Compton, California, while the 707 was making a nighttime approach into Los Angeles International Airport. The 150 hit the 707's outer right wing and was severely damaged, but the instructor pilot retained enough control to make a successful forced landing near a lighted golf course; although the Cessna was destroyed, its pilots both survived with injuries. The 707's outer right wing was damaged, but the aircraft landed safely at LAX, and none of its 87 passengers and 9 crew were injured. According to the NTSB, the cause was "the minimum opportunity for the flightcrews to see and avoid the other aircraft due to the background lights behind the Cessna and the decrease in the Cessna pilots' visual field resulting from the aircraft's wing while turning".
  • 9 January 1975: 150H N50430 collided with a United States Air Force Convair VT-29D at night over the James River off Newport News, Virginia, while the Convair was on an instrument landing system approach to Langley Air Force Base. The collision killed all aboard both aircraft: the Cessna's pilot and passenger and the Convair's five crew and two passengers. The NTSB found the probable cause to be "the human limitation inherent in the see-and-avoid concept, which can be critical in a terminal area with a combination of controlled and uncontrolled traffic", and recommended stricter traffic control procedures for the high-traffic area around Newport News and Langley.
  • 9 January 1975: Golden West Airlines Flight 261, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, collided with 150 N11421 at Whittier, California, while on approach to LAX, killing all 14 people on both planes.
  • 7 July 2015: 150M N3601V was involved in a mid-air collision with a General Dynamics F-16CJ Fighting Falcon over Moncks Corner, South Carolina. Both occupants of the Cessna were killed; the pilot of the F-16 ejected safely.

    Specifications (1976 150M Commuter II)