Cessna 152

 Cessna 152

Cessna 152. Photo: MilborneOne, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Make	Cessna
Model	Cessna 152
Type	Basic trainer,, GA private aircraft
Country	United States
Built	1977–1985
Number built	7,584
Registered in the US	1,660 (FAA register, October 30, 2026)
Seats	one, one passenger (plus two children not exceeding 120 lb on optional baggage compartment bench seat)
Engine	Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 hp
Cruise speed	123 mph (Cessna 152)
Range	477 mi (Cessna 152)
Service ceiling	14,700 ft (Cessna 152)
Max weight	1,670 lb (Cessna 152)
Developed from	Cessna 150
More aircraft · For sale

The Cessna 152 is a two-seat airplane with fixed tricycle landing gear, used mainly for flight training and personal flying. It is an update of the Cessna 150 with a number of small design changes and a slightly more powerful engine with a longer time between overhauls. It has been out of production since 1985, but many are still flying and in regular use at flight schools. In the U.S. there are 1,660 with a valid registration.

History

The first 152s were delivered in 1977 as 1978 models. Cessna meant it to compete with the new Beechcraft Skipper and Piper Tomahawk, to carry more with a gross weight raised to 1,670 lb, to be quieter inside and out, and to run better on the then-new 100LL avgas. Most were built in Wichita, Kansas, with more built by Reims Aviation in France as the F152 and FA152. Production ended in 1985 when Cessna stopped building all its light airplanes; 7,584 had been built by then.

Engine

Every 152 has a Lycoming O-235. Airplanes built from 1977 to 1982 have the 110 hp O-235-L2C, which still had some trouble with lead fouling; from 1983 Cessna used the 108 hp O-235-N2C with redesigned pistons and combustion chamber to reduce it.

Models

There are only four: the 152 (6,628 built), the aerobatic A152 Aerobat (315 built, certified for +6/−3 g, with skylights and jettisonable doors), and the Reims-built F152 and FA152.

Registered in the United States

The FAA register lists 1,660 of these airplanes with a valid U.S. registration. Here they are by the model name the FAA uses.

FAA model name	Registered
152	1,612
A152	48

Specifications (Cessna 152)

Item	Cessna 152
Crew	one
Passengers / capacity	one passenger (plus two children not exceeding 120 lb on optional baggage compartment bench seat)
Length	24 ft 1 in
Wingspan	33 ft 4 in
Height	8 ft 6 in
Wing area	160 sq ft
Empty weight	1,081 lb
Maximum takeoff weight	1,670 lb
Engine	Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 hp (flat-4 engine)
Propeller	fixed pitch, 69 in McCauley or 72 in Sensenich propeller
Maximum speed	126 mph
Cruise speed	123 mph
Stall speed	49 mph
Range	477 mi
Service ceiling	14,700 ft
Rate of climb	715 ft/min

Figures as given in the Wikipedia article and its sources.

Owner and mechanic notes: coming soon. What to check before you buy, common problems and what they cost to fix. Airplane Wiki is gathering this from owners and mechanics.

Photos

• 
  Cessna FA152 Aerobat (Belgian registration OO-LVJ) at Kemble Airfield, Gloucestershire, England. Photo: Arpingstone, Public domain
• 
  1985 Cessna F152 (G-BLZH) at Kemble Airfield, Gloucestershire, England in May 2003. Photo: Arpingstone at English Wikipedia, Public domain
• 
  Cessna 152. Photo: Ahunt at English Wikipedia, Public domain
• 
  Cessna 152. Photo: Ahunt at English Wikipedia, Public domain
• 
  A control panel for a Cessna 152. Photo: Kitplane01 at English Wikipedia, Public domain
• 
  Front view of a Cessna 152. Photo: Peter Somogyi-Tóth, www.legifotok.hu, CC BY-SA 4.0
• 
  Cessna 152 OH-CTH flying over Harakka Island in front of Helsinki. Photo: Anneli Salo, CC BY-SA 3.0
• 
  1978 Cessna 152. Photo: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0

All photos are from Wikimedia Commons; click a photo for its full credit and license.

Buying a Cessna 152

For sale listings: coming soon. Airplane Wiki will list Cessna 152s for sale here, with the facts on this page beside every listing.