COBI Cessna 172 Skyhawk Set 26623

COBI's Cessna 172 Skyhawk is a 1:48 model built from 162 blocks, 17.5 cm long with a 23.5 cm wingspan, with rotating wheels and a turning propeller. All markings are printed; the set contains no stickers. A new part — the vertical stabiliser — was designed specifically for this model.

Why the wing is on top

Look at the model from the side. The wing sits above the cabin rather than below it, and on a training aircraft that is a deliberate choice with three separate reasons.

The first is that the student can see the ground. A low wing hides everything below and to the side, which is precisely where a pilot needs to look when learning to judge a landing or navigate by looking out of the window.

The second is fuel. With tanks in a wing above the engine, petrol reaches the carburettor by gravity — no pump to fail, one less system to go wrong, one less thing to teach.

The third is getting in. A high wing means shade, shelter from rain during the walk-round, and doors that open without anyone climbing onto anything.

None of that makes it fast. It makes it the aeroplane most of the world's pilots learned in.

In the COBI range

Set 26621 is the same aircraft in yellow, also at 1:48.

Specifications

Pieces: 162 · Scale: 1:48 · No stickers
Model dimensions: 17.5 × 23.5 × 6.5 cm (6.9 × 9.3 × 2.6 in)