Airmaster

Sometimes the original ancestor airplane gives few clues that it could someday inspire the kind of state-of-the-art product we know that it ultimately will. And so it is with the Cessna Airmaster, a mid-'30s advancement that, as the company surely knew, wasn't advanced enough. It was and remains a beautiful aircraft, and it was competitive with a couple of other cabin monoplanes of the day from Stinson and others, though it had little to distinguish it from them. Perhaps its most noteworthy design feature is its cantilever wing. But in terms of materials, the Airmaster, with its fabric-covered, welded steel fuselage, wood wings and radial engine/taildragger design, was decidedly old school. But you probably know just where this is going. First flight: Aug. 19, 1934. Number built: 183. Status: Out of production.