Cessna 150A Model Reference

Generation and Certification

For maintenance research, the useful distinction is between the model-year evolution and the narrower component effectivity. An aircraft can share the same official designation with another example while falling on the other side of a documented change. Keep the serial and the installed equipment evidence together when locating a parts or maintenance reference.

The 1961 150A is an early-airframe refinement rather than the later Omni-Vision redesign. Its change record describes an enlarged rear window, main gear moved aft and a revised panel/control column. The 150D's later rear-window generation should not be confused with that earlier wording. Against the original 150, the A model therefore offers a useful cockpit and ground-geometry comparison while remaining in the 1,500-lb certified group. The normal A-model range is short enough that the internal brake change matters when evaluating two aircraft advertised under the same model name.

Serial Numbers and Production

For 150A, the ordinary source assignments are 1961: 15059019 through 15059350. The special identifier 628 is assigned to 150A, with year recorded as Unresolved: Model identity confirmed; not assigned to a normal model-year range here. The serial guide retains source conflicts and exceptional identities alongside these intervals.

Engine, Propeller and Equipment Changes

Serial 15059119 is the recorded transition from Goodyear to Cleveland wheels and brakes. That boundary is a better starting point for a brake-parts enquiry than "1961 Cessna". An earlier aircraft may subsequently have been altered, so reconcile the actual wheel and brake identification with its installation records. The O-200-A engine does not distinguish the A model from its predecessor, and neither does a generic fixed-pitch propeller description. The application table retains three approved-family propeller leads and their separate static-RPM ranges; a brake change should not be taken as evidence of a propeller change on the same aircraft.

The 150A factory installation groups specify 1961: O-200-A, 100 hp at 2750 RPM; Unresolved: O-200-A, 100 hp at 2750 RPM. Its named propeller applications are 69CK-0-48L / -50L / -52L; 1A100/MCM6950; 1A101/DCM6950. Their diameter, static-RPM and configuration conditions are preserved together below.

Specifications, Fuel and Loading

The A model's 136-knot/157-mph Vne and 74-knot/85-mph Vfe are presented on a CAS basis in the early certification group. They are not the higher flap-speed figure found in the D-F group. Its published 950-lb Standard and 955-lb Patroller empty-weight examples likewise belong to 1961 equipment descriptions. The five-pound difference between those examples says little about a present aircraft with replaced radios or repairs. Keep the normal and Patroller fuel configurations visible when comparing endurance, cabin load and the baggage allowance with a later model.

The A-model year summary retains a 33 ft 4 in span and 21 ft 6 in length, so the documented rear-window and main-gear changes should not be retold as the later D-model fuselage redesign. Its 1,500-lb limit and 80-lb baggage entry remain the early operating framework. That combination helps distinguish three separate enquiries: whether the aircraft is an A, which brake arrangement its serial originally supported, and which equipment remains installed. A replacement panel may obscure the historical control-column description, while recorded brake work may change the present component relationship. Neither changes the source's original serial breakpoint or licenses substituting a later model's limitations.

Performance and Comparison Conditions

One published 150A example is 1961 cruise speed: 121 mph (power % 70; altitude ft 9000). The table keeps each metric's year, units, power, altitude, fuel and reserve columns together. Use the performance guide to distinguish headline comparisons from handbook operating calculations; no unreported condition is supplied for 150A.

Manuals, Maintenance and Research

The special eligible identifier 628 cannot be assigned the ordinary range's model year just because the aircraft is a 150A. That exception matters when choosing the P220-13 manual family and reviewing an unusual airframe history. The family seat-rail issue scope explicitly starts with 150A among its named 150 letter models; this is a distinct research topic from the model's wheel/brake transition. Exhaust-heater research also requires the installed exchanger and the applicable serial wording. A sensible A-model comparison therefore separates the cockpit-seat installation, brake configuration and heating equipment instead of assuming one model-year package settles all three. The positive 150A publication leads are 1961: P220-13 (Owner's Manual).