Draggin’ Tail: 1946 Cessna 140
In ’46 the war was a year in the rear-view mirror, industry was demobilizing and prosperity had returned. The Cessna aircraft company introduced two new models, the 140 and its budget mined version, the 120 in 1946 to take advantage of the imagined post-war boom in civilian aircraft. Find this 1946 Cessna 140 for sale in Sherwood, OR for $27,500 via craigslist.
The 140 was equipped with a Continental C-90 air cooled, horizontally opposed 4 cylinder producing 90 hp, making it the Volkwagen Beetle of the sky. The 140 was the last of Cessna’s tail draggers and featured aluminum covered wings instead of fabric. The wings on this plane were recovered in 2009.
The panel on this plane remains original except for the addition of a Garmin, making it a mix of post-war and post modern. It also includes an intercom so you won’t be yelling at your copilot (unless you want to). Additionally, the seller highlights that it has a locking passenger door with a working key.
The interior was redone recently with new fabric and leather. The ad lists many other items of work and mentions that its annual will be completed in the next few weeks and it has log books back to 1962.
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I love the look of a bare aluminum skinned plane. The patina only makes it better. Taildragger setup trades ground handling and landing visibility for takeoff performance and a couple knots of cruise speed. It was very much the de facto gear setup back then. Tricycle gear doesn't look near as good.
Nice airplane. There is zero need for the Garmin in this airplane. You're not going fast enough to get lost, get out the sectional and look outside.
there are a lot of nice used planes out there without pilots to fly them – fewer people starting lessons, fewer finishing the course (mea culpa) – it's expensive, there's an element of disproportionate danger (perceived more than actual in many aspects), there are more recreational options than ever, big screen home theaters, etc, etc – new planes with all the latest safety and performance bits are very expensive – and on top of that, of course, the same -itis that afflicts interest in manual transmission cars – sad!