Arrayed against it are two Cessna models (the ill-starred Cardinal RG and the beloved 182RG Skylane), as well as Pipers Arrow in its various incarnations. A 1980 172RG regained its original value only a few years ago, and still hasnt exceeded it by much: this has not kept up with inflation.Īll the same, considering the aircrafts competition, its done reasonably well. The first Cutlass is pretty much the same as the last.Ĭutlass prices have, for the most part, seriously lagged behind the rest of the used-aircraft market. Wisely, Cessna left off the main gear doors that had proven so troublesome in other retractable singles.īy the time the 1980s rolled around, light aircraft manufacturers had essentially stopped trying to freshen their models every year. In terms of configuration, the Cutlass is straight 172, with the exception of the electro-hydraulic landing gear. In this role, the Cutlass did well, with sales to the big flight schools. Cessnas real goal, we believe, was to create a trainer that would step pilots up to complex aircraft. Though it fell into the same basic class as airplanes like the Arrow, the Cutlass suffered from a power deficit (compared to contemporary competitors) that kept it from vying successfully for that market niche. Essentially, the Cutlass was a retractable 172 fitted with a carbureted Lycoming O-360 and constant-speed prop (the same basic power package found on the fixed-gear Cardinal, though with a different variant of the engine). The timing of the Cutlass introduction was unfortunate it hit the market in 1980, generally seen as the year when the GA slump began. Indeed, only 1,191 were rolled out of the factory doors. Its ill-defined market niche, coupled with the advent of the general aviation recession, kept the production numbers fairly low. Sort of an intermediate hybrid between the venerable 172 and the inestimable 182RG Skylane, the Cutlass rode a fine line for the five years it was in production.

1984 cessna 172p poh pdf file