Cessna 180
The Cessna 180 series and its descendants are another great success story for Cessna Aircraft Corporation of Wichita Kansas, and general aviation. Borrowing some features, such as flaps, from the Army's L-19 Bird Dog liaison airplane and evolving directly from the postwar Model 170B four-seat design, the 180, introduced in 1952, became a rugged four-place high-wing plane with a top speed of 165 mph.
Om 17 April 1964 Mrs. Jerrie Mock, 38-year-old housewife of Columbus, Ohio, became the first woman to make a solo flight around the world as she landed at the Columbus airport. She flew more than 23,000 miles in 29 days, making 21 stops since starting the flight on March 19. She flew a Cessna 180 called the Spirit of Columbus.
The Cessna 185 descends directly from the 180 model of 1952 having a similar appearance - including the squared, vertical tail-plane but with a more powerful engine. The prototype 185 flew in July 1960 and - with a stronger structure - was intended to serve as a bush plane. Noticeable external differences were extra side windows (3 instead of 2, to cater for 6 seats) and the enlarged fin fillet to increase its stability when fitted with floats. The 185 is capable of being fitted with wheel, ski, pure float undercarriage or amphibian float/alighting gear
