Sunday, June 12, 2005

 

Buy Me a Cardinal

1974 Cardinal Sales Brochure Every aircraft is required by federal regulations to carry certain documents on board at all times. These include the airworthiness certificate, the aircraft registration, the operating handbook, and the aircraft's weight and balance specifications. A prudent aircraft owner will also obtain copies of the service manual and parts catalog to help in evaluating plans for ongoing maintenance. But the true airplane geek will go to great lengths to find original copies of the sales brochure and price list. These can be found on eBay for a reasonable price, and for those of us who fly older aircraft, they can be an interesting trip down memory lane as well as a revealing look at advertising practices of years gone by. In Yellowbird's case, we go all the way back to 1974. Fortunately, the general aviation market seems to have been spared some of the worst stylistic offenses of the 1970's, but there's still enough to make us thankful for the passing of years and fashions, even as we lament the all too short production run of our favorite Cessna.

So, put on your powder blue leisure suit, grab the plaid pants-suited wife, and with a nod to James Lileks, come with me back to a time when avocado green was exciting, poor grammar in a professional business context was fashionable, and Cessna avionics cost about the same as they do today. Are you ready? Then...

Let's Go Cardinal Shopping!

Comments:

Posted by Blogger Aviatrix at 12:14 AM, June 13, 2005  

That's funny. I have one like that for a Piper twin, photographed to look extra long, like those 1970s car ads. I'll bet Boeing had equally embarrassing 1970s ads.

I knew about the Land-O-Matic (i.e. tricycle) gear, Para-Lift (i.e. fowler) flaps, and Omni-Vision (i.e. rear window), but I'd never seen the terms in context with the 1970s clothing.

I've flown a C172 in the original mustard yellow (there's no tiger that colour) over aluminum.



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