Cessna 140

{{Short description|Single engine light airplane}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}} {{Use American English|date=November 2021}}  {{Infobox aircraft |name=Cessna 120 & 140 |image=File:N2422V 1948 CESSNA 140 s n 14669 (49509431121).jpg |caption=Cessna 140 |type=Light utility aircraft |manufacturer=Cessna Aircraft Company |designer= |first_flight=June 28, 1945 (140)<br/>1946 (120)<ref>Simpson, Rod: ''The General Aviation Handbook'', Midland Publishing 2005, {{ISBN|1-85780-222-5}}, p.81.</ref> |introduction=1946 |retired= |status= |primary_user= |more_users= |produced=1946–1951 |number_built=7,664 |variants= }}

The '''Cessna 120,''' '''140''', and '''140A''', are single-engine, two-seat, conventional landing gear (tailwheel), light general aviation aircraft that were first produced in 1946, immediately following the end of World War II. Production ended in 1951, and was succeeded in 1959 by the Cessna 150, a similar two-seat trainer which introduced tricycle gear. Combined production of the 120, 140, and 140A was 7,664 units in five years.<ref name="Christy">Christy, Joe: ''The Complete Guide to the Single-Engine Cessnas - 3rd Edition'', pages 12-17. TAB Books, 1979. {{ISBN|0-8306-2268-3}}</ref><ref name="PlaneAndPilot">Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', page 22. Werner & Werner Corp Publishing, 1978. {{ISBN|0-918312-00-0}}</ref>

==Development==

===Cessna 140=== thumb|Cessna 140 taxiing The Cessna 140 was originally equipped with a Continental C-85-12 or C-85-12F horizontally opposed, air-cooled, four-cylinder piston engine of {{convert|85|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}}. The Continental C-90-12F or C-90-14F of {{convert|90|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} was optional, as was the {{convert|108|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Lycoming O-235-C1 engine, an aftermarket installation authorized in the type certificate. This model had a metal fuselage and fabric wings with metal control surfaces. The Cessna 170 was a larger four-seat development of the 140, sporting a more powerful engine.<ref name="Christy"/><ref name="PlaneAndPilot"/><ref name="A768">{{Cite web|url= https://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgMakeModel.nsf/0/2d3c513e9ce4433886257ed2006fb509/$FILE/A-768_Rev_35.pdf|title =Type Certificate Data Sheet No. A-768|access-date = 19 August 2022|last = Federal Aviation Administration|author-link = Federal Aviation Administration|date = July 29, 2015}}</ref> thumb|Restored 1946 Cessna 140

===Cessna 120=== thumb|Cessna 120, built 1948, showing the smooth underside of the inboard wing, without flaps. The Cessna 120 was an economy version of the 140 produced at the same time. It had the same engine as the 140, but lacked wing flaps. The rear-cabin "D" side windows and electrical system (radios, lights, battery and starter) were optional.<ref name="Christy"/><ref name="PlaneAndPilot"/><ref name="A768" /> A 120 outfitted with every factory option would be nearly equivalent to a 140, but the International Cessna 120/140 Association believes that no 120s were originally built this way. Despite this, many decades' worth of owner-added options have rendered many 120s almost indistinguishable from a 140 aside from the absence of wing flaps.<ref name="aopa_budget">{{cite journal | title = Budget Buy: Drag your tail - cheaply! | journal = AOPA Pilot | date = October 2011 | first = Ian J. | last = Twombly | volume = 54 | issue = 10 | pages = 60–66| url = http://www.aopa.org/members/files/pilot/2011/october/feature_cessna_140_budget_buy.html | access-date = 2011-10-27}}</ref> The 120 was dropped from production upon introduction of the 140A in 1949.<ref name="aopa_budget"/> thumb|1946 Cessna 120, in Nebraska, 1964

===Cessna 140A=== thumb|Cessna 140A with the single wing strut In 1949, Cessna introduced the 140A, a new variant with aluminum-covered wings and single wing struts instead of the fabric wing covering, dual "V" struts, and jury struts fitted on earlier models. Standard engines were the Continental C-90-12F or C-90-14F of {{convert|90|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}}, with the {{convert|85|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Continental C-85-12, C-85-12F, or C-85-14F engines optional. The spring-steel gear had been swept {{convert|3|in|cm|0|abbr=on}} forward on 120 and 140 models in late 1947 so landing gear extenders were no longer necessary to counter nose-over tendencies during heavy application of brakes; all 140A models had the improved gear legs.<ref name="Christy"/><ref name="PlaneAndPilot"/><ref name="GearLegs">International Cessna 120-140 Association, [http://www.cessna120-140.org/forum/files/.pdf Landing Gear Legs and Extenders for the Cessna 120/140/140A Planes] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109192305/http://www.cessna120-140.org/forum/files/.pdf |date=2014-01-09 }}</ref><ref name="Phillips">Phillips, Edward H., : ''Wings of Cessna, Model 120 to the Citation III'', Flying Books, 1986. {{ISBN|0-911139-05-2}}</ref><ref name="5A2">{{Cite web|url= https://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgMakeModel.nsf/0/bfc5f63870b57e1186257ed2006f214f/$FILE/5A2_Rev_22.pdf|title = Type Certificate Data Sheet No. 5A2 |access-date = 19 August 2022|last = Federal Aviation Administration|author-link = Federal Aviation Administration|date=July 29, 2015}}</ref> Despite these improvements, sales of the 140 lineup faltered, and the 140A comprised only seven percent of overall 120/140 production.<ref name="aopa_budget"/>

==Modifications== Common modifications to the Cessna 120 and 140 include:

*"Metalized" wings, where the fabric is replaced with light-gauge sheet aluminum, eliminating the need to periodically replace the wing fabric.<ref name="Christy"/><ref name="aopa_budget"/> *The installation of landing gear extenders to reduce the tendency of the aircraft to nose over on application of heavy braking. These were factory-optional equipment.<ref name="aopa_budget"/><ref name="Cessan120-140PM">{{cite web|url=http://www.micro-tools.net/pdf/Cessna/120-140_pm.pdf |title=Cessna Model 120 & 140 Parts Catalog |access-date=2009-08-08 |last=Cessna |author-link=Cessna |year=1954 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716031253/http://www.micro-tools.net/pdf/Cessna/120-140_pm.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-16 }}</ref> *Installation of rear-cabin "D" side windows on 120s that were not originally so equipped.<ref name="aopa_budget"/> *Installation of electrical systems on 120s that were not originally so equipped, allowing owners to install an electric starter, more sophisticated avionics, or lights for night flying.<ref name="Christy"/><ref name="aopa_budget"/> *Installation of a more powerful engine. A popular conversion today is to replace the original C-85 or C-90 with a 100 hp (75 kW) Continental O-200.

Three propellers with different pitches of the propeller blades were originally available on the Cessna 140A model, the standard propeller, a climb propeller, and a cruise propeller. A Cessna 140A with a Continental 100 HP O-200 and a cruise propellor could cruise past the larger, usually faster, Cessna 172.

A kit is available to install a Lycoming O-320 but this conversion is less prevalent due to a roughly 100 lb (45 kg) weight penalty and a sharp increase in fuel consumption.<ref name="aopa_budget"/>

==Operators== ===Military=== ;{{GUA}} *Guatemalan Air Force<ref>Hagedorn 1993, p. 55.</ref> ;{{NIC}} *Nicaraguan Air Force<ref>Hagedorn 1993, p. 38.</ref>

==Specifications (Cessna 140)== thumb|1946 Cessna 140 interior

{{Aircraft specs |ref=''The Complete Guide to the Single-Engine Cessnas'',<ref name="Christy"/> ''AOPA Pilot'',<ref name="aopa_budget"/> and ''Aircraft Specification No. A-768''.<ref name="A768" /> |prime units?=imp  |genhide=

|perfhide=

|max speed kmh= |max speed mph=125 |max speed kts= |max speed note= |cruise speed kmh= |cruise speed mph=105 |cruise speed kts= |cruise speed note= |stall speed kmh= |stall speed mph=45 |stall speed kts= |stall speed note=flaps down |never exceed speed kmh= |never exceed speed mph=140 |never exceed speed kts= |never exceed speed note= |range km= |range miles=450 |range nmi= |range note= |endurance= |ceiling m= |ceiling ft=15500 |ceiling note= |g limits= |roll rate= |glide ratio= |climb rate ms= |climb rate ftmin=680 |climb rate note= |time to altitude= |lift to drag= |wing loading kg/m2= |wing loading lb/sqft=9.1 |wing loading note= |fuel consumption kg/km= |fuel consumption lb/mi= |power/mass= |thrust/weight= |more performance= |avionics= }} thumb|View (from behind) of a Cessna 140.

== See also == {{aircontent |related= * Cessna 150 * Cessna 170 |similar aircraft= * Aeronca Chief * ERCO Ercoupe * Fleet Canuck * Luscombe 8 * Taylorcraft B * Piper Vagabond |lists= |see also= *1945 in aviation (first flight) }}

== References == {{Reflist}}

* {{cite book |last=Hagedorn |first=Daniel P. |title=Central American and Caribbean Air Forces |year=1993 |location=Tonbridge, Kent, UK |publisher=Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd |isbn=0-85130-210-6}}

==External links== {{Commons and category|Cessna 120|Cessna 120}} {{Commons and category|Cessna 140}} * AVweb's [https://www.avweb.com/news/features/Used-Aircraft-Guide-Cessna-120140-221398-1.html Cessna 120/140 Review], an extensive article on the history and features of the type {{Dead link|date=November 2025}} {{Cessna 140 family}} {{Cessna}}

140 Category:High-wing aircraft Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft Category:1940s United States civil utility aircraft Category:Aircraft first flown in 1945 Category:Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear Category:Single-engined piston aircraft