It’s no secret that Cessna is working on a new piston single. Cessna boss Jack Pelton told single-engine dealers last fall that a new airplane was coming. Jack and I even discussed potential new designs at length several months ago. Jack bought the martinis that I drank, and I think he listened, but by the end of the evening I was suggesting, as I remember it, a biplane pusher configuration made from injection molded plastic, so I’m sure he gave up by then.
What Cessna hasn’t revealed, in bars or otherwise, are any details of what a new piston single may look like. There have been hints that a new airplane would not replace any of the three models-the 172, 182 and 206-currently in production. Jack did tell me that preliminary work had begun in Cessna’s engineering lab, but whatever timetable or other targets exist for the project remain a company secret.
