Cessna 120

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The Cessna 120 is a single-engined light aircraft with a high-mounted wing, tailwheel landing gear, and two seats placed side by side, produced by Cessna from 1946 through 1948. It was the lower-cost version of its more full-featured companion model, the Cessna 140.

The Cessna 120 looks almost identical to the original version of the 140, as opposed to the improved 140A introduced in 1949. Both the 120 and the original 140 have a wing which is fabric-covered, has round ends, and is supported on each side by a V-shaped pair of lift struts that are reinforced by smaller jury struts. The key difference between the 120 and the original 140 is that the 120 lacks the 140's flaps. The 120's inboard wings are completely smooth, while the flaps on a 140 have a corrugated surface. Another potential difference is that some 120s lack the rear side windows which were standard on the 140. However, such windows were still an option on the 120.

The following photos are all of 120s, some with rear side windows and some without. Some of these have their main wheels covered by streamlined "wheel pants".

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  G-BRPH
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  N2106V (more photos)
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  N3128N (more photos)
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  G-BPZB (more photos)
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  N1867N
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  G-BRXH
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  G-AJJS (more photos)
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  G-BTBW (more photos)
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  G-BJML
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  G-JOLY (more photos)
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  G-BUKO (more photos)
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  G-BVUZ (more photos)
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  G-BUHZ (more photos)
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  G-JOLY
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  NC76189 (photo from 1964)
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  G-AKVM
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  N2982N
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  G-OVFM (more photos)
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  G-AJJS
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  G-BRPF
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  G-BUHZ
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  G-AJJS
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  G-BTEW

Floats or skis could also be equipped. Here are a couple of views of the Cessna 120 floatplane NC2087N, taken in the late 1940s:

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On the 1948 models of the 120 and 140, Cessna slanted the main landing gear legs further forward, shifting the main wheels several inches toward the front and reducing the chance for the airplane to tip onto its nose from the pilot braking too hard. The difference is often hard to detect, but it is visible in the next two photos, showing a 1947 and a 1948 model.

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  G-BUKO, a 1947 model
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  G-BUHZ, a 1948 model

Some 120s (as well as 140s) from the 1946 and 1947 model years have been equipped with special "landing gear extenders" that offset the main wheels several inches forward from the gear legs to get the same stabilizing effect. The following photos show a 1946 model with these and a closeup of a similar extender from a 140.

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  G-BUJM, a 1946 model with landing gear extenders (more photos)
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  A landing gear extender from a 140