The U.S. Civil Air Patrol (CAP) has awarded a contract to Textron Aviation for the purchase of 17 Cessna piston engine aircraft. The contract includes 11 Skyhawk 172Ss, five Skylane 182Ts and one Turbo Stationair HD T206HD. The purchase is in addition to 19 Cessnas ordered by CAP in 2019.
“From search and rescue, to disaster relief and homeland security, the missions the CAP undertake daily are as broad as their footprint across the U.S.,” said Textron Aviation Special Missions Sales Vice President Bob Gibbs. “We are honored that Cessna aircraft continue to be the organization’s platform of choice for these crucial operations.”
CAP was founded on Dec. 1, 1941, as the official civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. The group has over 66,165 volunteer members organized into 1,442 squadrons across the country. CAP currently owns and operates a fleet of nearly 550 Cessna aircraft. In 2019, the organization flew almost 96,000 hours in their Cessna piston fleet.
How sad to put this purchase of 17 airplanes into juxtaposition with the last half of the 70’s when Cessna was pumping SO many airplanes out that they were leasing parking spaces on all the surrounding airports. At that time, this purchase wouldn’t have been a drop in the bucket.
Everybody pines for the years of 1977 and 1978. It might be good to recall that just because Cessna was building airplanes at an unbelievable rate, doesn’t mean they were selling them at that rate. Cessna had their distributors over a barrel where they had to take aircraft, by contract, even if there weren’t enough buyers for them. So the factory was free to keep going like gangbusters, even without real customers for their product. That overbuild is one of the reasons that general aviation collapsed in the early 1980s, and the marketplace got along (mostly fine) with no new aircraft produced for ten years between 1986 and 1996.
It’s amazing the Air Force has not been willing to push for cleaner, safer, and/or more effective aircraft for our young airmen hopefuls in fifty years. No wonder they have a hard time finding people.
These Cessnas are as safe as small airplanes get (without BRS that is).
They are as ‘effective’ as small airplanes get.
An occasional wash and wax and they are clean as a small airplane can get.
What’s the complaint?
The price of a new one!!! 🙂