7 July 2020
When Dennis Ozment went looking for a restoration project and spotted an ad for a tatty blue Cessna 172 sitting at an airport in Texas with the seller claiming it was the very first one, the numero uno, Job One, Cessna 172, he didn’t really believe it. Wrong colour for a start. But when he talked to the seller and checked the aircraft, there it was: serial number 1.
What’s more, the 172 was in decent mechanical nick but needed an all-over tidy-up. Just the level of restoration project Dennis was looking for. He flew it home – a story in itself – bimbled around for a while then knuckled down to the refurb.
And look at it now! A thoroughly nice, original to the period, aeroplane that’s also usable, fun, and good enough to win a Gold Lindy Award at the 2017 EAA AirVenture.
When we realised this summer is the 65th birthday of the Cessna 172 (don’t mention the R-word), we asked Ken Scott to track down the owner and write the story. If you’ve read Ken’s articles for FLYER before, you’ll know you’re in for a treat. It’s the cover story in the latest August 2020 edition of FLYER. Read it here for free.
Summer of (Flying) Love
All across the nation
Such a strange vibration
People in motion
There’s a whole generation
With a new explanation
People in motion
People in motion…
Thanks Scott for kicking off the FLYER Summer of (Flying) Love, the 2020 version not 1967.
With lockdown restrictions lifting and hopefully some good weather, we ask ‘What are your plans for summer flying?’
We give you some of ours, plus some from friends of FLYER, to whet your appetite and get you going… you might meet some gentle people with flowers in their hair.
Determined new pilot
Matthew Monaghan didn’t let muscular dystrophy get in the way of becoming a private pilot, and tells us about learning to fly as the recipient of a scholarship from Flying Scholarships for the Disabled, in First Solo.
A different Flying Adventure
Just before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, Steve Carver and his team mates at UK display team Global Stars were on a mission to appear at Wings India 2020, the big airshow on the sub-continent.
Steve takes us behind the scenes from tentatively opening the shipping container full of expensive Extra aerobatic aircraft on arrival, through assembly and testing, to display day… when COVID arrived.
Which camera?
In Top Gear, Peter Steele takes a look at ways you can make in-cockpit videos of your flying, and not break the bank with expensive kit.
PLUS…
FLYER’s new Flight Safety Editor Steve Ayres looks at a couple of accidents where two very different pilots had their capacity stretched…
Save a brilliant £78 with SIX FREE landings at Kenyon Hall Farm. Perth, Redhill, Tatenhill, Wadswick and West Tisted… but only if you are a member of The FLYER Club. Try saying ‘West Tisted’ with a mouthful of TangFastics and see where it gets you…
Great columns from Matt Dearden, Mark Hales and Ian Seager. And all the latest news.
