Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Some Airplanes

So I decided to stop at the Ann Arbor Airport on the way home tonight.  It was a nice evening and there were a couple of planes flying around.
 First up was a Cessna 152 landing as I was getting to a parking spot.  The Cessna 152 was first introduced in 1977 and was a modernization of the Cessna 150 model.  It is powered by a 110 Horsepower Lycoming O-235 engine.  From what I understand, it is a fairly easy plane to handle.
 A little over 7,500 of these have been produced from 1977 to 1985.  It is mostly used for general aviation and flight training.
 I believe this next plane is an Aeronca Chief.  It was produced at the Dayton Municipal Airport in Vandalia,Ohio.
 The Chief had its first flight in 1945 and its production in the United States lasted until 1950 with about 2,300 produced.  It was known as a pretty easy airplane to fly.
 After production ended in the United States, a variant was produced Hindustan Aeronautics as the HUL-26 Pushpak.  This production lasted well into the 1970's.
 I'll have to say that this is a pretty nice looking aircraft.  For some reason it reminds me of a Piper Cub.
 It's a shame they don't build them like this anymore.
 I stuck around to see a couple passes of her.
 I'm pretty sure our paths will cross again.
 Our last plane was the Cirrus SR20.  I'm pretty sure I've posted pictures of variants of this aircraft but if not, it's a pretty neat plane.  It was first produced in 1995 and is the first airplane to be equipped with a parachute to help it land safely in the event of an emergency.  It was also the first aircraft manufactured out of composite materials.  It also has flat panel avionics.
 It is powered by a 200 Horsepower Continental IO-360 engine which gives it a cruise speed of 155 knots.
 Like I said, it's a pretty cool looking plane.
 If I remember correctly, this was touted as one of the planes to save general aviation.
and based on its safety record, I may have to agree with that.

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