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The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company.^[5] First flown in 1955,^[5] more 172s have been built than any other aircraft.^[6]

Measured by its longevity and popularity, the Cessna 172 is the most successful aircraft in history. Cessna delivered the first production model in 1956 and as of 2015, the company and its partners had built more than 43,000.^[7][8] The aircraft remains in production today.

The Cessna 172 started life as a tricycle landing gear variant of the taildragger Cessna 170, with a basic level of standard equipment. In January 1955, Cessna flew an improved variant of the Cessna 170, a Continental O-300-A-powered Cessna 170C with larger elevators and a more angular tailfin.^[9] Although the variant was tested and certified, Cessna decided to modify it with a tricycle landing gear, and the modified Cessna 170C flew again on 12 June 1955.^[9] To reduce the time and cost of certification, the type was added to the Cessna 170 type certificate as the Model 172.^[9] Later, the 172 was given its own type certificate, 3A12.^[10][11] The 172 became an overnight sales success, and over 1,400 were built in 1956, its first full year of production.^[12]