The Cessna T-41 Mescalero is a military version of the popular Cessna 172 , operated by the United States Air Force and Army , as well as the armed forces of various other countries as a pilot-training aircraft .
5-736: In 1964, the US Air Force (USAF) decided to use the commercial off-the-shelf Cessna 172F as a lead-in aircraft for student pilots rather than starting them out in the T-37 jet aircraft. The USAF ordered 237 T-41As from Cessna . The first USAF class (67-A) of students began training on the T-41 from the civilian airport in Big Spring, Texas , in August 1965. The T-41B was the US Army version, with
10-665: A 210 hp (160 kW) Continental IO-360 engine and constant-speed propeller in place of the 145 hp (108 kW) Continental O-300 and 7654 fixed-pitch propeller used in the 172 and the T-41A. In 1968, the USAF acquired 52 of the more powerful T-41Cs, which used 210 hp (160 kW) Continental IO-360 and a fixed-pitch climb propeller, for use at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs . In 1996,
15-696: A series of fatal accidents at the US Air Force Academy. Four T-41s remained at the Air Force Academy for the USAFA Flying Team, as well as to support certain academic classes. A number of air forces, including Saudi Arabia and Singapore , purchased various civilian models of the Cessna 172 for use in military training, transport, and liaison roles. While similar to the T-41, these aircraft were not T-41s and were powered by
20-538: The aircraft were further upgraded to the T-41D, which included an upgrade in avionics and to a constant-speed propeller. Beginning in 1993, the USAF replaced many of the T-41 fleet with the Slingsby T-3A Firefly for the flight-screening role, and for aerobatic training, which was outside the design capabilities of the T-41. The T-3A fleet was indefinitely grounded in 1997 and scrapped in 2006 following
25-652: The standard 172 powerplants available in the model year purchased. These included the 145 hp (108 kW) Continental O-300 in pre-1968 aircraft and the 150 and 160 hp (120 kW) Lycoming O-320 in later 172s. With the exception of the T-41A, most variants of the T-41 were certified under the Cessna 175 Skylark type certification. Data from Global Security General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Commercial off-the-shelf Too Many Requests If you report this error to
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