Fifty Years and Counting: "T-41 Mescalero" Reveals How the World's Most-Produced Light Plane Has Served the Armed Forces of 54 Countries
More than 40,000 Cessna Model 172 Skyhawk light planes have been produced -- 5,000 more than any other aircraft model. The just-released book "T-41 Mescalero: The Military Cessna 172" by Walt Shiel, Jan Forsgren and Mike Little recounts this aircraft's usually overlooked military story. Entertaining, educational and profusely illustrated, this landmark history marks Volume 1 of the Cessna Warbirds Series.
Lake Linden, Michigan (PRWEB) December 11, 2006 -- For most people, the mere mention of light plane conjures up a mental image of a Cessna 172 Skyhawk. Over the last 50 years, Cessna Aircraft Company has produced over 40,000 off these four-place, single-engine airplanes. That's 5,000 more than any other manufacturer has produced of any single aircraft model. More than 1,000 have served in the armed forces of the US and 53 other countries; many continue to serve today. The just-released book "T-41 Mescalero: The Military Cessna 172" by Walt Shiel, Jan Forsgren and Mike Little, published by Slipdown Mountain Publications LLC, recounts this aircraft's usually overlooked military story in an entertaining and educational manner.
From the US to Chile, Ireland to Greece and Mozambique to South Korea, military air arms have chosen the Model 172 and its military incarnation, the T-41 Mescalero, for pilot training, light transport and liaison duties. Country by country, "T-41 Mescalero" demonstrates how and why so many armed forces have selected this ubiquitous civilian airplane to serve alongside their jets and heavy iron.
Walter J. Boyne, renowned aviation historian and author, says, "This long overdue tribute to the Cessna T-41 Mescalero is well-researched, well-written and beautifully illustrated."
For the historian, "T-41 Mescalero" provides the time lines, operational uses and complete specifications, plus 48 pages of delivered aircraft listed by region, country and serial number. For the general reader, the many true, first-person stories (of daily operations, close calls, humorous incidents and memorable student pilots) entertain and enlighten. For the artist and modeler, the book supplies both three-view drawings and 194 photos (80 percent in color) of the variegated military paint schemes.
Rob Fox, editor of Australia's "Flightpath" magazine, says, "The breadth of information presented...makes this fundamentally a must-have volume for all advocates of military aviation."
With new Model 172s still rolling off the Cessna assembly lines, its remarkable story will continue. With armed forces still flying their 172s and T-41s, its military story is far from closed. The international research and writing team of American authors Walt Shiel and Mike Little and Swedish author Jan Forsgren brings a global perspective to this landmark history, which is Volume 1 in the publisher's new Cessna Warbirds Series. To learn more, view a video or purchase a copy, visit the book's http://T-41Mescalero.com website.
Based in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Slipdown Mountain Publications LLC publishes fine art prints, military flight manuals, novels, and nonfiction books on military history, the paranormal and cryptozoology. The company publishes two or three new books each year. Books may be purchased via the company's website (http://SlipdownMountain.com) or by phoning 906-523-4118 (or 866-341-3705 toll-free).
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