How Many Cessna 182s Were Produced?

[Kynadog]

Does anyone have any information on how many Cessna 182s were produced by model? My Google skills are letting me down on this one, as I get conflicting information.

Probably a bridge too far, but I’d anyone know how many of each model are still flying, that would be awesome, too.

 

[luvflyin]

Does anyone have any information on how many Cessna 182s were produced by model? My Google skills are letting me down on this one, as I get conflicting information.

Probably a bridge too far, but I’d anyone know how many of each model are still flying, that would be awesome, too.

@Pilawt , Mr. at Pilawt, white courtesy telephone please

 

[SkyDog58]

You could pull up the TCDS and do some math with the serial numbers to get an idea of how many from each series was produced. How many are still flying is tougher as many went overseas. A registry search will show how many are still registered in the US but that doesn’t mean they are still flying. That question is almost impossible to answer.

 

[Pilawt]

@Pilawt , Mr. at Pilawt, white courtesy telephone please

I have a book at home that has that info. I’ll get to it in the morning.

 

[Randomskylane]

Does anyone have any information on how many Cessna 182s were produced by model? My Google skills are letting me down on this one, as I get conflicting information.

Probably a bridge too far, but I’d anyone know how many of each model are still flying, that would be awesome, too.

Wiki says 23,000+ through 2007, citing Cessna website fwiw

still flying info -maybe from insurance industry sources?

 

[ktup-flyer]

182-843
182A-1713
182B-802
182C-650
182D-591
182E-826
182F-635
182G-786
182H-840
182J-941
182K-880
182L-820
182M-750
182N-770
182P-4370
182Q-2539
182R-895
———————
19,584 pre-restart

 

[NoHeat]

A-R seems like a lot of models. Are there any planes that have topped that?

 

[Pilawt]

A-R seems like a lot of models. Are there any planes that have topped that?

The C-182 is number three. Cessna 172 tops them all with over 44,000 units. There were almost 24,000 Cessna 150s built (not counting the over 7,500 C-152s). Almost 34,000 Piper PA-28s have been built, but that includes all the sub-models from Cherokee 140 through Turbo Arrow. Just under 20,000 J-3 Cubs were built.

The record for single-year production would go to the 1966 C-150F (3,000 units) and 1967 C-150G (a hair under 3,000).

Among Cessna 172s, the most prolific model was the 172N (1977-80), 6,421 units, followed by the 172M (1973-76), 4,826 units.

Most-produced military aircraft are the Ilyushin Il-2 (36,000) and Messerschmitt Bf.109 (35,000). Among transports, there were about 16,000 DC-3/C-47s, and the 10,000th Boeing 737 was built in 2018.

 

[NoHeat]

That’s impressive, but actually what I meant, in my question, was not the number of airplanes, but the number of models, where 182 is the first model, 182A is the second, and so forth.

 

[schmookeeg]

Beech 35 is comparable. from memory...

35, 35R, A35, B35, C35, D35, E35, F35, G35, H35, J35, K35, M35, N35, P35, S35, V35, V35A, V35B

Not sure if the debonairs count, they are 35-33, 35-A33, 35-B33, 35-C33, 35-C33A... not sure beyond the C model deb, I think they transitioned off of the 33 prefix somewhere in there, I'd need to look it up

 

[Bell206]

where 182 is the first model, 182A is the second, and so forth.

FYI: The TCDS will sequentially list all the model variants and include what date they were put on the TC.

 

[Pilawt]

There was almost a Model 172J ... remember what happened to that one? There were also the F172D, FP172D, F172E, F172F, F172G, F172H, F172K, F172L, F172M, F172N, F172P, FR172E, FR172F, FR172G, FR172H, FR172J, FR172K -- built by Reims/Cessna in France, but not certified in the US. There are a few minor differences from the US-built counterparts.

Foreign-built 182s were A182J, A182K, A182L and A182N, by DINFIA in Argentina; and F182P and F182Q by Reims in France.

 

[NoHeat]

Thanks, Pilawt

So among US-made GA airframes it looks like the 182 the one with the most models.

It's curious that Cessna skipped the "I" model designation for the 182, even though there was a 172I.

 

[Pilawt]

It's curious that Cessna skipped the "I" model designation for the 182, even though there was a 172I.

Looking for consistency in Cessna's model number protocol will drive you nuts.

A retractable 172 is a Model 172RG. A retractable Cardinal is a Model 177RG. So of course a retractable 182 is a ... nope, it's a Model R182. But a Model R172 is a fixed-gear 172 with a bigger engine. And don't confuse the Model R182 with the Model 182R (or an R172 with a 172R). Or the Model 182T, or a turbocharged Model T182. You could also have a fixed gear Model T182R, but the turbo'ed retractable is the Model TR182. Still with me?

A Model P172 was a 172 with more horsepower, but a Model P206 had the same engine as the other 206's but with nicer seats and no cargo door. And a Model P210 was a 210 with pressurization.

Put an 'A' in front of a Model 150 or 152 (A150/A152) and you've made it aerobatic. Put an 'A' in front of a 185 Skywagon or 188 Agwagon and you've made it with a bigger engine. Put an 'A' in front of a 182 and you've made it ... in Argentina!

But the 172I was probably an afterthought, reflecting a last-minute change in the company's plan.

Recall that the 172H was supposed to be the last of the old-fashioned, strutted 172s. Cessna was developing a snazzy, modern, strutless replacement that originally was to be called the Model 172J. Former Cessna aerodynamicist and test pilot Bill Thompson picks up the story:

"As early as 1965 we had envisioned a C-172 replacement in the form of the totally new cantilever-wing C-177. In anticipation of a great sales success, our management had taken a leap of faith by ordering 4,000 Lycoming O-320-E2D 150hp engines for that airplane. When this "bigger and better" airplane turned out to be too heavy, it became clear that 150 hp was inadequate for the C-177. Thus it was necessary to use some of these 4,000 engines in a continued C-172I production program. The charmed life of the C-172 was destined to continue indefinitely with this smoother-running and lighter 4-cylinder Lycoming engine."​

Since the 1967 model was 172H, and 172J was already taken for the Cardinal project, "172I" was available for the stop-gap Lycoming-powered 172 for 1968. Only 649 172Is were built, compared to 1,620 for the 1967 172H, and 1325 for the 1969 172K.

 

[Salty]

Thanks, Pilawt

So among US-made GA airframes it looks like the 182 the one with the most models.

It's curious that Cessna skipped the "I" model designation for the 182, even though there was a 172I.

Is that a 1, an L, or an I?

 

[Pilawt]

Is that a 1, an L, or an I?

The 1968 model of the 172 was 172I -- 'I' as in India.

 

[asicer]

"...smoother-running and lighter 4-cylinder Lycoming engine."

Lighter, I understand. But is the bigger bore 4 really smoother than the smaller bore 6? That seems counter-intuitive.

 

[Pilawt]

Lighter, I understand. But is the bigger bore 4 really smoother than the smaller bore 6? That seems counter-intuitive.

I caught that too. I always thought the O-300 was very smooth.

 

[Rgbeard]

Is that a 1, an L, or an I?

And that would be a perpetual mistake-point, depending on the issue, an important one I would predict. An improperly ordered/installed part or procedure would possibly be very bad.

At our downtown condo, they use lettering on the floors, i.e. on the 9th floor, you had condos from unit 9A to 9S. Omitted letters i, o, q. Letters i and o are more obvious to omit for their confusion with similarly-shaped numbers. But I've always wondered why the developers had it out for Q.

 

[luvflyin]

The C-182 is number three. Cessna 172 tops them all with over 44,000 units. There were almost 24,000 Cessna 150s built (not counting the over 7,500 C-152s). Almost 34,000 Piper PA-28s have been built, but that includes all the sub-models from Cherokee 140 through Turbo Arrow. Just under 20,000 J-3 Cubs were built.

The record for single-year production would go to the 1966 C-150F (3,000 units) and 1967 C-150G (a hair under 3,000).

Among Cessna 172s, the most prolific model was the 172N (1977-80), 6,421 units, followed by the 172M (1973-76), 4,826 units.

Most-produced military aircraft are the Ilyushin Il-2 (36,000) and Messerschmitt Bf.109 (35,000). Among transports, there were about 16,000 DC-3/C-47s, and the 10,000th Boeing 737 was built in 2018.

Wonder how many of them Illyushins and Messerschmidts lasted even one day. What about WWII US planes. Which one had the most copies printed? I’m guessing B-17’s

 

[Pilawt]

What about WWII US planes. Which one had the most copies printed? I’m guessing B-17’s

B-17, 12,400; B-24, 18,200; P-47, 16,200; P-51,15,900+; DC-3/C-47, 16,000+; Spitfire, 20,300.

 

[ktup-flyer]

R model is best model. Just a fact

 

[luvflyin]

B-17, 12,400; B-24, 18,200; P-47, 16,200; P-51,15,900+; DC-3/C-47, 16,000+; Spitfire, 20,300.

See you put Britain in there. They had the most. Makes sense. They were at it longer than we were.

 

[Dan Thomas]

Lighter, I understand. But is the bigger bore 4 really smoother than the smaller bore 6? That seems counter-intuitive.

Midway through my PPL training in '73-'74, the '66 172 (O-300) I was using was re-engined with the O-320. It was smoother than the O-300, probably due to the Dynafocal mounting. The Dynafocal has some magic geometry as well as large, soft shockmounts that isolate most of the vibration from the airframe.

The school also had a 1968 Cardinal. Nice to get in and out, nice to look at, but underpowered.

 

[Dan Thomas]

Spitfire, 20,300.

Wow. And how many flyable now? Wiki says maybe 70. So sad.

 

[WDD]

Wonder how many of them Illyushins and Messerschmidts lasted even one day. What about WWII US planes. Which one had the most copies printed? I’m guessing B-17’s

The ME 109 has high numbers because they just didn't change the model name of the plane, although the plane change substantially enough that it could be considered a different model. Similar to how the F18 Hornet became the F18 Super Hornet - but the planes are different enough they should have a new model number.

Source: A great You Tube video series is "Gregs automobiles and airplanes". Lot of technical details.

 

[SkyDog58]

Takeaway lesson. Don’t ask @Pilawt a question unless you want a very thorough and detailed TMI response.

 

[Salty]

And that would be a perpetual mistake-point, depending on the issue, an important one I would predict. An improperly ordered/installed part or procedure would possibly be very bad.

At our downtown condo, they use lettering on the floors, i.e. on the 9th floor, you had condos from unit 9A to 9S. Omitted letters i, o, q. Letters i and o are more obvious to omit for their confusion with similarly-shaped numbers. But I've always wondered why the developers had it out for Q.

The most difficult software bug I ever had to solve ended up being a condition statement

if (amount == l)

but with the font in the editor we were using, a 1 and the letter l were identical. Some moron used a variable named l (not to mention the function was huge, so the definition and initialization of the variable was hundreds of lines of code away from this statement).

I must have stepped through the debugger a hundred times trying to figure out why the condition statement wasn’t working right. How can 1 not equal 1 for the love of god! I had to drop down to the assembly language to finally figure out what was going on.

 

[asicer]

but with the font in the editor we were using, a 1 and the letter l were identical.

I wouldn't doubt that the author did that intentionally in order to make a comment on your choice of font and/or editor. I can neither confirm nor deny that in the past I may or may not have done that as well.

 

[Salty]

I wouldn't doubt that the author did that intentionally in order to make a comment on your choice of font and/or editor. I can neither confirm nor deny that in the past I may or may not have done that as well.

This was back in the days when you didn’t have a choice of fonts.

 

[AlphaMike]

The most difficult software bug I ever had to solve ended up being a condition statement

if (amount == l)

but with the font in the editor we were using, a 1 and the letter l were identical. Some moron used a variable named l (not to mention the function was huge, so the definition and initialization of the variable was hundreds of lines of code away from this statement).

I must have stepped through the debugger a hundred times trying to figure out why the condition statement wasn’t working right. How can 1 not equal 1 for the love of god! I had to drop down to the assembly language to finally figure out what was going on.

Whatever Nerd...

 

[Salty]

Whatever Nerd...

You can call me nerd all you want, as long as the paychecks keep comin'

 

[Pilawt]

You can call me nerd all you want, as long as the paychecks keep comin'

Hey, that's my title around here.

 

[AlphaMike]

You can call me nerd all you want, as long as the paychecks keep comin'

Just playing with ya. I’m every “bit” of nerd as you are.