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Cessna, Wings for the World - Book Recommendation

For anyone who wants a read on how and why Cessna aircraft came to be,

https://www.amazon.com/Cessna-wings-world-single-engine-development/dp/0892882212

This is really a fascinating book. The volume of work and testing that went into each model was immense. How they evolved year by year and why some things were improvements, others not. Which were the test pilots favourite models. Then you get into things like:

- Why was the 172 developed in a barn in a woods away from all eyes…
- How much pure water could you pump into the fuel tanks of a 182 to make it stop…
- Why did Cessna 150’s etc have such huge flaps…
- Where did Beechcraft take their double doors from for the A36/Baron…
- Why do some Cessna’s pitch forward in a sideslip with more the 30 flap…

It really is a great read if you are into the details of these things. It’s good to get it from an authority on Cessna rather than all the passed down old wives tales that you hear. It certainly increases brand loyalty for me to know they tested their products in such a rigorous way, and also tested all the competitor’s aircraft to take the best of their rivals thinking.

Buying, Selling, Flying
EISG, Ireland

WilliamF wrote:

For anyone who wants a read on how and why Cessna aircraft came to be,

Published in 1991… New copies go for $165 and up on Amazon — even used copies cost from $46. Wow.

ESKC (Uppsala/Sundbro), Sweden

Thanks for the recommendation, will try and get the book.
Is similar information (on but not limited to testing) available for other aircraft? Piper etc..?

always learning
LO__, Austria

WilliamF totally agree – I gave my copy to the local charity bookshop :(

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

http://www.cessnawings.com/wwi.htm

It’s only $25 plus shipping. I use a shipping forwarder from the US and it was cheap. For a few litres of gas it’s worth having.

Buying, Selling, Flying
EISG, Ireland

Got my copy in the mail today. Pleasant email contact with the author’s daughter, Constance. Standard shipping (from the US to, in my case ,Germany) was an additional 24$ (paid via PayPal, grrr).

Be patient though… in my case, it took almost 6 weeks until the book arrived.

Last Edited by boscomantico at 09 Sep 12:50
Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

I got it too! Must-read for anyone with the slightest interest in light aircraft development…it explains so much about the airplanes that have dominated the GA scene for most of its history!

Thx for the tip @WilliamF

Antonio
LESB, Spain
7 Posts
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