Its been 8.5 years - guess I should ask...

SkyHog

SkyHog

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Feb 23, 2005
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Everything Offends Me
What the hell is the difference between a Cessna 150 and a Cessna 152. I always assumed it was one of those things I'd figure out, given enough time, but I give up.

C170 vs. 172 is easy
C180 vs. 182 is easy

In fact, pretty much any Cxx0 is a tail dragger, except the C150.

Please strip me of my ignorance...
 
SkyHog said:
What the hell is the difference between a Cessna 150 and a Cessna 152. I always assumed it was one of those things I'd figure out, given enough time, but I give up.

C170 vs. 172 is easy
C180 vs. 182 is easy

In fact, pretty much any Cxx0 is a tail dragger, except the C150.

Please strip me of my ignorance...
Click to expand...

A 152 is a 150 too.
 
SkyHog said:
What the hell is the difference between a Cessna 150 and a Cessna 152. I always assumed it was one of those things I'd figure out, given enough time, but I give up.

C170 vs. 172 is easy
C180 vs. 182 is easy

In fact, pretty much any Cxx0 is a tail dragger, except the C150.

Please strip me of my ignorance...
Click to expand...

The difference between a Cessna 150 and a Cessna 152 is similar to the difference between a Cessna 150L and a Cessna 150M.

The 152 had a 110 HP Lycoming O-235 burning 100 octane in place of the 100 HP Continental O-200 in the 150 that burned 80 octane. The 152 also used a 28 volt electrical system and limited flap travel to thirty degrees. Those are the primary changes, none of which warranted a new model number.

The new model number was purely for marketing. Both Beech and Piper were coming out with new trainers, the Skipper and Tomahawk, so Cessna needed a "new" trainer too.
 
Please do us all a favor and ground yourself immediately! If you can't differentiate the most common aircraft you can't be trusted to 'see and avoid.'

Just kidding.

Rule of thumb:

1) It has a nose wheel
2) Doesn't have an awkwardly skinny tail (LSA)
3) You are overtaking it
= Cessna 15x
 
If they're not in their original paint schemes, a 150M and a 152 are difficult to distinguish externally. The 152's cowl is slightly longer and slimmer, exposing a little more of the nose gear strut and steering rods. The 152 has a single, larger exhaust stack, instead of the smaller dual stacks on the Continental-powered 150.

1976 C-150M:

cessna_150m_1976.jpg


150-152_clipping.jpg


1979 C-152:

cessna_152_1979.jpg
 
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I trained exclusively in 152's then rented 150's for a while. Some other differences. The airspeed indicator is in MPH in 150's, and Knots in 152's. The flap switch on 152's has convenient notches for each degree of flaps, the 150 does not.
 
I remember the first one I ever saw, a straight-back on the ramp at Wiley Post airport in OKC. Looked for all the world like a 172 that had been left in the dryer too long.
 
Anthony said:
Some other differences. The airspeed indicator is in MPH in 150's, and Knots in 152's. The flap switch on 152's has convenient notches for each degree of flaps, the 150 does not.
Click to expand...
All Cessna singles, including the 150M, switched to knots on the primary display for the 1976 model year (Piper and Beech made the switch in 1977). And the preselect flap switch (to 40 degrees) was on the 150M for its last model year of production, 1977.
 
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The cabin is slightly wider in the 152 vs 150. Particularly notable in better shoulder/elbow room.
 
Pilawt said:
All Cessna singles, including the 150M, switched to knots on the primary display for the 1976 model year (Piper and Beech made the switch in 1977). And the preselect flap switch (to 40 degrees) was on the 150M for its last model year of production, 1977.
Click to expand...

I did not know that. Thanks.

I quit flying Cessnas as soon as I tried something else. No regrets.
 
Seems to me also that the 150 had fuses and the 152 had circuit breakers.
 
So it seems the biggest changes to the 152 were the engine, and bowed doors?
 
Pilawt said:
No change between the later 150s and the 152.

The "wider" cabin came about when the doors were bowed out three inches on the 1967 C-150G.
Click to expand...

I'll need to look that up, because I got my PP-ASEL in a 1969 150, and when I flew a 152 shortly after getting my cert, I'm certain it felt wider at the shoulders.

Jeff
 
roncachamp said:
The biggest change was to the model number.
Click to expand...

I have a good amount of hours in both. I did prefer the 152 by a pretty wide margin. I may have also flown crappy examples of 150's though.
 
Pilawt said:
No change between the later 150s and the 152.

The "wider" cabin came about when the doors were bowed out three inches on the 1967 C-150G.

C-150G_cabinwidth.jpg
Click to expand...

The first thing that popped into my head seeing that picture was, "who in their right mind flies a 152 in a suit?"
 
In 1967, more than a few. When I learned to fly a decade later, it was still common to see flight instructors in neckties. People used to dress better and dress up for travelling...
cessna_150f_int.jpg
 
Pilawt said:
All Cessna singles, including the 150M, switched to knots on the primary display for the 1976 model year (Piper and Beech made the switch in 1977). And the preselect flap switch (to 40 degrees) was on the 150M for its last model year of production, 1977.
Click to expand...

Most of the models of the 150's had Johnson Bars
And the A & B models had bench seats (and only the back adjusted fore and aft at the seat line [the top of the back was the pivot]). The seat pad was fixed.
 
flyingron said:
In 1967, more than a few. When I learned to fly a decade later, it was still common to see flight instructors in neckties. People used to dress better and dress up for travelling...
cessna_150f_int.jpg
Click to expand...
Back when airplane travel as special and airlines treated you better. Now they are just another form of mass transit. Like bus stations, only bigger.
 
flyingron said:
In 1967, more than a few. When I learned to fly a decade later, it was still common to see flight instructors in neckties.
Click to expand...

Here's my flight instructor, the late James G. Gelder, in 1967. I don't recall ever seeing him without a white shirt, tie and cardigan sweater, even in the back seat of the Champ in which he started my training.

N8188S-02.jpg
 
flyingron said:
In 1967, more than a few. When I learned to fly a decade later, it was still common to see flight instructors in neckties. People used to dress better and dress up for travelling...
cessna_150f_int.jpg
Click to expand...

Fair enough. Glad we don't do stupid things like that any more. It's bad enough with shorts and a t-shirt in the summer. I can't imagine what it was like with a suit on.
 
flyingron said:
In 1967, more than a few. When I learned to fly a decade later, it was still common to see flight instructors in neckties. People used to dress better and dress up for travelling...
cessna_150f_int.jpg
Click to expand...

I'd love to see the weight & balance for that trip! :D
 
SCCutler said:
I'd love to see the weight & balance for that trip! :D
Click to expand...



I was wondering the same thing. 2 Adults + full gas puts you at/over max gross with full tanks..how the heck do you add 2 kids & (it looks like) 2 bags of luggage in that thing? 10 gallons of gas then?
 
SkyHog said:
What the hell is the difference between a Cessna 150 and a Cessna 152. I always assumed it was one of those things I'd figure out, given enough time, but I give up.

C170 vs. 172 is easy
C180 vs. 182 is easy

In fact, pretty much any Cxx0 is a tail dragger, except the C150.

Please strip me of my ignorance...
Click to expand...

Simple, the next model in that mid lift range wing with the Ag Husky 188C at the top of it.

The 152 is the next in progression. It has the more powerful 113hp Lycoming O-235 engine and a general retrim of the cowl and add a more expensive to maintain 28v electric system. New panel and interior trim pack, that's about it.
 
Does 152 have a cigar lighter outlet, and if yes, how does it convert 28V to 12V? The airplane was made long before solid state DC-DC converters became practical.
 
zaitcev said:
Does 152 have a cigar lighter outlet, and if yes, how does it convert 28V to 12V? The airplane was made long before solid state DC-DC converters became practical.
Click to expand...

Yes, it has a 28v cigar lighter outlet.
 
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