Textron expands Top Hawk aircraft program to mark 70 years of the Cessna Skyhawk

Textron Aviation, the US-based aerospace giant that owns a range of aircraft brands such as Bell Helicopters, Cessna, Pipistrel, and Beechcraft, will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Cessna 172 Skyhawk single-engine training aircraft in 2025. The type, first introduced in its most simple form in 1955, has come a long way since then, with over 45,000 of the type already built, and the aircraft remaining in production seven decades on.

Known for its simplicity, ruggedness, and reliability, the Skyhawk quickly became a favorite among flight schools and student pilots when it was first introduced in 1955. The type has remained the world’s leading training aircraft in which many pilots still take their very first flights.  

Designed primarily to act as a basic training aircraft for student pilots and for hour-building toward more advanced pilot licenses, the Cessna Skyhawk is a larger version of the trusted Cessna 152 basic trainer, albeit with four seats as opposed to two, and with a larger fuselage.

EvangelineK / ShutterstockThe Skyhawk features the same high-wing configuration as its smaller sister, with the modern-day version of the Skyhawk featuring a 180-bhp Lycoming piston engine accompanied by a McCawley two-bladed metal fix-pitch propellor. All versions of the Skyhawk feature a tricycle-fixed landing gear configuration.  

Unlike its earlier predecessors, today’s Skyhawks come with a range of options to enhance the pilot experience, says Cessna, with Garmin G1000 electronic flight instruments taking the place of older clockwork dial instruments, and with aircraft coming equipped with USB ports, and LED interior lighting – none of which had been invented when the C172 was first envisioned.

Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the illustrious and hardworking training aircraft, Textron Aviation has also marked the tenth anniversary of its ‘Top Hawk’ program designed to provide flight students with access to the world’s most popular trainer aircraft. As part of this milestone, 2025 participants of the Top Hawk include United Flight Systems, Lunken Flight Training Center, Flex Air, and VNE Aviation, the program’s first UK recipient.

Barry-Roeland / ShutterstockSince the Top Hawk program launched in 2015, Textron Aviation has placed nearly 50 Cessna Skyhawks with participating Top Hawk organizations around the world “to inspire the journey of flight and support the industry with a robust pipeline of skilled aviators.” As a Top Hawk participant, each organization receives a factory-new, custom-branded Cessna Skyhawk to use for the duration of the program for student pilot training and “to promote pilot training at air shows, aviation contests, and recruiting events,” states the manufacturer.

“With a demand for more than 200,000 new pilots globally in the next decade, it’s vital to support young people pursuing aviation opportunities,” said Lannie O’Bannion, Cessna’s Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing. “The Skyhawk provides students with a technologically advanced flight training platform, ensuring that students at Top Hawk organizations are equipped with high-quality equipment as the cornerstone of their careers.”

Alongside the Cessna 172 Skyhawk, Textron Aviation’s current family of aircraft includes business jets, turboprops, and high-performance pistons, to special mission, military trainer, and defense aircraft. The company claims to have “the most versatile and comprehensive aviation product portfolio in the world and a workforce that has produced more than half of all general aviation aircraft worldwide.”

“Customers in more than 170 countries rely on our performance, reliability, and versatility, along with our trusted global customer service network, for affordable and flexible flights” states the company’s website.

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