Light · ICAO C120

Cessna 120

The Cessna 120 was a simple post-war two-seat taildragger built to make private flying affordable. It used fabric-covered wings and a basic cabin without flaps or electrical system in early versions. Its success helped establish Cessna’s post-war light-aircraft business.

Cessna 120, example photo from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: ZLEA · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Did you know?

Early Cessna 120s had no flaps and no electrical system at all, keeping this fabric-winged taildragger simple and affordable.

Specifications

Length6.9 m (23 ft)
Wingspan11 m (36 ft)
Height2 m (7 ft)
Maximum passengers1
Persons on board2
Crew1
Maximum take-off weight0.6 t
Range400 NM (741 km)
Maximum speed95 kt (176 km/h)
Stall speed32 kt (59 km/h)
Service ceiling12,000 ft (3,658 m)
Optimum ceiling10,000 ft (3,048 m)
Rate of climb640 ft/min (3.3 m/s)
Take-off distance198 m (650 ft)
Landing distance450 m (1,476 ft)
Fuel capacity100 l
Engines1x Continental C-85

Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.

In CatchFlights

In CatchFlights the Cessna 120 starts as a Uncommon catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you.

A catch counts for the manufacturer Cessna, the 120 family and the model in your collection, and the daily Type Rating quiz asks about the types of each family.

Catch it yourself.CatchFlights shows the aircraft flying near you on a radar, so a type like this one is only a catch away when it passes overhead. Explore CatchFlights.

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