Why CESSNA 150 Commuter is Excellent - The Best Two Seat Plane? 

I soloed for the first time in a 150 on the morning of July 20, 1969, and again that afternoon. That evening I watched the first moon landing. Both events are linked for me, and both were wonderful.

Learned how to fly in this little bird. Put over a 1000 hours on mine. Flew it all over the east coast, from Key West to Nantucket and all over the mountains in WV. Set mine up with a full Garmin stack for instrument flying and refinished everything, paint, seats, windows and even cables. Such a great little airplane. Mine is still flying with the subsequent owners, N10518. Blue skies! At 13:35 that’s my dear little old plane, N10518!

I did my solo on my 16th birthday in a 150. I was a 90 lb kid and my instructor was well over 235. When he got out of the plan and told me to go around once on my own I was really surprised, but not nearly as surprised by the MASSIVE increase in performance without him in the aircraft! I made it to pattern altitude so fast it really freaked me out. Then on landing it just would not come on down until the last minute. Certainly memorable!! Neat memories.

As a student pilot I once made the statement, "If a Cessna 150 is all I can fly, I'd just as well not fly." Much later, as a CFI, I came to have a great respect for the little airplane. It's a great airplane that does exactly what it was intended to do.

Took lessons in a 150 around 1962. Liked flying but life got in the way.

Got my license 50 years ago in a Cessna 150 and have owned one for 20 years. That's my 1974 Cessna 150L at 7:04.

Back in the 70s, while playing at going to college an aquintance at the school was in their flight training curriculum. Offered to take me up late one afternoon. We drove to the Air Patch they operated from and cramped was not even close. I was still thin but was 6 ft 3 in and tucking that in that 150? Was a chore. He gave me all the basics of controlling the aircraft and handed over control. We were over the college and I ended up circling a HS football game, everyone on ground looked like tiny little blobs especially the players on the field. I had a ball. Unfortunately I didn't get bitten by the flying bug. But have always held Cessnas in a special place in my mind if not my heart. 👍👍👍👍👍

Love the C-150! Soloed one, N4792X, on my 16th birthday in 1967 and retired as a United Airlines captain almost fifty years later. Managed to give another 600 hours of flight instruction in this sturdy, predictable little aircraft along the way.

All 150s had side by side seating. They truly are a great plane and very economical with low fuel burn and simple systems.

I did my flight training in 150’s and 152’s. It amazes me that Cessna doesn’t still market this aircraft. It is the quintessential flight trainer.

I owned a Cessna 150 aerobat! Great little trainer! Never has one folded up doing aerobatics!

I got my PPL with this plane . Love it . 32 years a go TC- DBG

Happy to say that I’m one of those 250,000 Cessna 150/2 graduates. Even though I fly much heavier aluminum these days, this airplane will always have a special place in my heart!

The 150 really looks good with its swept back tail and wheel pants.

I’m one of the pilots that learned to fly in 1961 in a150 I loved the plane

I got my ppl in a 172 Skyhawk in Naples Florida and have flown 150's in Germany and Spain on a few occasions since. A great and reliable little aircraft to fly. Still prefered the 172 for comfort and space though. Due to health/age issues, I no longer fly unfortunately. Thanks for the memories anyway.

I learned to fly in the 150 and 152. It’s a great little plane and a joy to fly. Never had any problems flying them.

One very surprising characteristic of the 150/152: departure spins and spin recovery. I learned on a 150 in a time when spin recovery in all modes was a syllabus item. I have spun many a/c since and I have to say that in a couple respects the 150 stands out in a butt-clenching way. In a departure stall/spin (full power, nose up, none to 10deg flaps) when it lets go (almost certainly left wing), it REALLY lets go. It is the most abrupt thing you can do in a 150 and it is instantly inverted for at least 3/4 to 1 1/2 turns. It sorts itself out but holy crap, 1st time, no one sees THAT coming. Second thing is that when it stabilizes in the spin it is very nose low, which is great for the instant you stab opposite rudder. But in the instant after you stop rotation you then have a surprisingly narrow window, pointing almost straight down, between assuring flying speed and executing the pullout without over-speeding the plane. You go very quickly from being sure not to pull too soon too hard to avoid re-stall, to balancing not over-g-ing the plane vs the airspeed buildup. And yes, this assumes you pulled off power immediately after stabilizing. I have spun a lot of planes since and I find it interesting that of all of them, the one that left me feeling kind of ambushed was the 150.

I took a few flying lessons in a '150' back in 1980. Wonderful aircraft trainer.

Mine was a 1976 150m and had vertically adjustable seats that were fabulous. My taller flying buddy always sat with the seat all the way back and I sat forward so we weren't in each others way. By the way, all 150s were side by sides from the beginning. A fabulous plane that you could fly all day with one finger. Hard to beat that.

I had a Cessna 150 aerobat and it was great airplane to learn primary aerobatics!

Good morning Dwayne! Thank you very much for this “ Sentimental Trip back in time” it has been at leas 30 years since I soloed on a Cessna 152! Venerable, reliable! Forgiving! But above all “Fun to Fly” 90 kts is its natural speed! I remember one flight with a strong head wind, watching down cars on the highway moving faster that I was!! Felt static in the air…emergency engine out simulations were also fun… I even had an instructor that actually turn the engine off and had me glide back to our home airport to which I arrived to traffic pattern with ample speed and altitude - Was flying at 7500 Ft when engine was turned off and was able to glide for 15 nm! - while in the pattern downwind leg I asked the instructor: do you want me to land engine off or should I start the engine and get my “A” + for that glide….

Our soaring club owned two with 150 hp continentals and clime props for towing. They always got looks from other pilots when they flew the 'pattern' first flight of the day...Clime rate.

My father learned to fly in one of these, with me in the child seat in back, practicing stalls and touch-and-go's. I loved it. After that it was bush flying in his old v-tail Bonanza.

Excellent plane. Soloed in 1971. Very forgiving airplane.

Perfect little aircraft for the job. I did my PPL skills test in G-AWPU at 13:02. Had to double take when I saw it and check my logbook!

I learned how to fly in a 150. Great fun and and no scary moments. After I received my ticket I bought a Cessna 172. Another great an easy to fly airplane. I think with the cost of fuel through the roof. Many hopeful pilot won’t be able to afford the pleasure.

I use to fly the 152's when I was doing lessons years ago when I could afford to fly. Very good plane for 2. Reliable and strong plane.

❤ Loved my training on the 152

I grew up with a Cessna 150 in our family from the early 80's to the mid 90's. I was in the 4th grade in 1982. Our biological father came home one day and asked for a family meeting. Our biological father asked if we wanted an airplane. If so, us kids would have to give up our allowance and report card grades money. We all agreed we wanted an airplane. Around 3:30am our biological father would come into our bedrooms and wake us up. We drove out to the country where there was a bunch of houses around a grass field runway. It was our (kids) job to go to the boneyard and pull parts off other airplanes to build ours. After building the plane, it was multicolor....lol. The guy. who sold us the plane said he thinks he has some extra paint, buy that would cost extra. Not knowing the color, they opened a can. The color was a grey color. Knowing the color the plane was going to be. Now we had to come up with a name and a paint scheme. That night we all talked about many names. The one that was settled on was The Grey Mouse. After looking through some airplane books. Our biological father came across a paint scheme from an O-2 bird dog (a tail dragger). Our biological father was an ex Air Force pilot. So he made the plane look like an Air Force plane. If you Google N51305, the tail number for our airplane. You can see what our plane looked like when we owned it. One day, flying into Tulsa International our biological father called in and was cleared to land. Right after another airplane was cleared to land on the same runway. When our biological father noticed this, he called back to the tower. The tower said they didn't see him on radar. To fly around and get back in pattern. So he did, he called back in for landing. The tower stated they couldn't see him and asked for his location. The Air Control tower still could not see the plane. So the control tower guy got the binoculars out and found the plane. After this out biological father was cleared to land. During the investigation, the FAA found that the grey paint was radar absorbent paint. Back History.... Rockwell International was going out of business and had a government auction. The guy who sold us the paint. bought the paint from this auction. The RG on the tail stands for Rogers county in Oklahoma. The airplane was also part of the civil air patrol and the civil defense. When we moved out to California. We moved to Mojave. We had a hanger at the Mojave Airport During this time a stall kit was added and a second landing like light in the opposite wing. Dryden NASA from Edwards Air Force Base would also take part in STOL research of this aircraft (((We still have VHS video's of them testing the plane. We were part of the Civil Air Patrol at Edwards Air Force Base. During Airshows we would always fly to Edwards to show off the plane. We eventually bought fighter pilot helmets to use in the plane. I have very found memories of this plane. I last located this plane in Texas. The radar absorbent paint has been removed. To me that's the coolest thing about The Grey Mouse. In high school we were the only kids that had an airplane and we all walked around Mojave High School with flight jackets. I will always love the Cessna 150. The Grey Mouse was one of the biggest things I loved about my life growing up. Everyone knows teenager's act up. For me, when I went flying and I would look down at all those small cars driving around. I also realized my problem's were just as small. I've meet so many people in my life. Some famous and some not so much. But none of this could have happened without The Grey Mouse. I owe my teenage years of happiness to this one small airplane.

I learned to fly Airplanes at the Ft. Stewart Flying Club back in 1976. 37.5" Wide Cockpit and 2 BIG Soldiers made for an absolutely miserable flying experience I would wish on no-one. My wife and I sat in a 172 a couple of months ago while contemplating the Rental vs., Purchase Decision and could not believe how miserable a 40" Wide Cockpit felt at this point in our lives (Healthy Seniors). The minimum width cockpit for us now is 44". High Wing is definitely a plus for Ingress and Egress as we get older. Unfortunately Cessna only made ONE Wide Body Single in History and that was the Cessna 177 Cardinal at 48". To bad prices have skyrocketed in 2021 and 2022. As the Markets all begin to crash with the Demon Rats in control we sit and watch as prices slowly fall back down. We are VERY impressed with the new LSA Birds and their Cockpit Widths. The new TL Sparker at 50" is perfect...the price is a different story....Good Video but totally disagree with the author.

Always a soft spot in my heart for this plane. It’s simple but comprehensive enough to provide the full gambit of flight regimes for teaching purposes. Thanks for making this video.

I loved flying the flying the 152. Almost the same as the 150

I bought my 150 about 2 months ago. During this times of high gas prices, I love I can use regular ethanol free gas and only burn 4.5 gallons an hour at 80mph. She ain’t fast, but she will get you there.

I learned to fly on a 152, great little airplane. It always felt like you were strapping it on, rather than sitting inside it... :-)

The one with the 110HP engine is not the 150, it is the 152. And the flaps produce a marked NOSE UP pitch because of the drag above the CG and the downwash on the elevator, not nose down. And the last 150 was manufactured in 1977 when the 152 production started.

After a 20+-something-year career as an aviator ... AG driver, corp, etc. and though I never cared much for Cessna machines ... have to admit ... the 150 was great fun to fly. Biggest complaint??? Cockpit was too cramped. Aside from the Mustang, my alltime favorite was the Super Cub. Could land a Super Cub in less than 20 ft., measured. Windy day on an isolated sandy ocean-side beach .... !!! Lots of flash and fame with the gorgeous brutes ... but for sheer fun of 'real', hands-on, seat-of-the-britches flying??? Super Cubs ... then this machine. With large barn-door flaps,I always felt that because they could be operated so slowly ... they were very safe birds to fly. Nice vid ... thanks!!

I learned to fly in the 150, Great little plane. Went on to work for Beech Aircraft. They were great planes, too.

The 150 is excellent because it is The Safest Aircraft In General Aviation.. In the hands of a pilot who has mastered it.. it can land on a postage stamp. There is hardly anything better to be in in a survivable crash. While it lacks the well balanced controls of a Luscombe or a Bellanca, it will do exactly what the pilot tells it to do. It's forebare the 120/140 had hugely larger useful load which makes it a far better traveling machine, while the conventional gear is better for rough strips. The L/M models have the wider cockpit of the 152, and the better gear legs. The cost of the O-200 is more attractive than the 152's Lycoming.. but the extra poop is welcome there. In real turbulence the 150 can quickly persuade you to do a 180....which may be the one redemeing feature of the lack of dihedral. FAA really missed the boat when it failed to include the 150/152 ( and similar weight planes) in the light sport weight qualification... this hurt general aviation and flight schools ( and cessna) badly.

I initially started my flight instruction in a 152. After I got a decent pay raise, I moved up to the 172. Now I'm in a 182. I remember one hot humid day with my instructor, and we couldn't get the 152 up over 3000 feet. When my instructor taught me in the 182, he told me that I would never want to go back and fly anything smaller. He was bloody right.

I had an uncle who was a small aircraft flight instructor and he had 5 planes. His Piper Cub tail-dragger and full instrument Cessna 172 were his most popular instruction planes. He also had a Cessna 152, Beechcraft Bonanza, and a twin engine Cessna 310. I learned how to fly in the 172 but was checked out in everything except the 310. My favorite plane was the 152 as it was the newest and easiest to fly. It had wing tips and wheel fairings and had a sweet spot for fuel mileage running at 94 knots prior to the engine rebuild. It got a "hawk" horsepower upgrade that bumped the engine to 130HP at the rebuild that made the mileage sweet spot 102 knots. It was a very forgiving plane and if dialed in you could easily let go of the controls and it would fly strait and level for hundreds of miles.

MOJO grip Mike's content rocks.

I learnt to fly in 150'2 and 152's and found them great to fly being so stable. Only had one bad scare when we smelt smoke in the cockpit and had to make an emergency (very quick) landing. It turned out to be just spilt oil on an exhaust pipe but it sure was Pucker Time. Regards, Jim in NI UK

Ahhh the moped of the skies :)

Best trainer of all time ! My first and many others.

My instruction was on C150. It is a Great Plane!

I learnt in a 150 and a 152 then they got the 80hp Diamond Katana, it was horrible you couldn't slow the thing down! I wish they still made the 152 I'd buy one for sure.

When I was 7 My uncle whisked me and my cousin away for short trip in his new 150. We ran into a line thunderstorms around our destination airport. Cousin and I sharing the right seat thought it was so cool to see rain "falling up" as we were coming in to the landing! We had no Idea that dear uncle was sweating bullets to get us safely home. Later as adults he told us how hairy the situation had been for him as a new pilot. Years later his little 150 was wiped out when his hangar was destroyed by a tornado. I happened to be there as well when we surveyed the damage. The only time I had ever seen my jovial uncle upset.

Needed to watch at 1.25x speed lol. great video though, would love to see more

Learned to fly in 150/152s. When I wanted to buy an airplane, I flew 172s for a year, then bought one. The 150/152s were too small for me, me and my 6' tall instructor used to max it out.

We had a 150H when I was growing up, and my cousins and I all learned to fly in it. My dad flew a O-470 C188 ag wagon and my uncle flew a G164 with an R985. It had a forest green stripe with the numbers in white and some maroon stripes in the design. Like at 3:35, but green and maroon. And it had Drop tips. N11560. The O200 broke a boss on the rocker arm of the #3 cylinder and locked the valves so it was feeding exhaust back into the intake. Went to about 60% power as we powered up to go around. We ended up staggering around some gaps in the treeline and making a 270* turn to land in a field. I swear the stall horn was yelling for the last thirty seconds and I saw 35 indicated, and my dad was still flying her. Controls still had input. Unfortunately the field was freshly turned and we landed across the furrows. Knocked the nose gear out from under us, prop strike, and really slowly, over on its back. Everyone was ok, though my grandma (who had been walking on the runway which made us initiate the go around) was watching and was pretty shaken up. Last I heard someone bought it and took to Belize to fix and fly. This was all in or about 1994. Edit: spelling and correction of #4 to #3.

Learned to fly in a 150. But later purchased a 140. Lived in windy Mojave desert. Much prefer tail dragger. Dip that wing into crosswind. Use rudder to keep nose where I wanted it. No flaps. Crammed the yolk into the runway on one wheel on crosswind side. Bleed off speed. Wait for other wheel to contact ground. Fly to tie down. Controlled crash. If I tried to crab into wind I'd get blown off runway when I tried to straighten out to flare. Tricycle gear plane lot more difficult to land in those 30 knot crosswinds.

Never flown one. My flight instructor was like "you'll never fit in one of those." lol

I think I am just a fan of small Cessnas I would love to fly a little 150, maybe I will when i can afford flight school, saving now 👍

Had a $5 Discovery Flight in a 150 in "68" at a long time closed flight school (King Aviation) right outside of Fort Benning, Georgia and had just returned from Vietnam a couple of months prior.

Great plane to go up in and biz around… if you are a small person.

I enjoyed flying a 150 during my training. It was as this video shows, a wonderful, fun, machine. Wish it was still being manufactured for young pilots to get their hours in a tried and true plane

I had mine for about 30 years and it was the best investment of my life. N19290. I miss you Oscar. Take good care of your new boss.

As someone with their mind in the gutter I have to appreciate the airplane with the tail number that spells out " 'gasms". Anyway, I did all my private training in a C152 and have always loved that model. I really want to get one now but even for the used airplane market the prices are stupid expensive.

what the heck, @7:25 thats a plane from my flight school haha, awesome!

I had a 1964 150 and loved it!

My very first flying lesson was in a 180 in 1970. The minute I felt those wheels leave the ground and realized this little machine propelling me into the clouds was under my control I was HOOKED as sure as the airplane was heroin!!!

My Daddy was Pilot Trainer in Germany we had a new Cs.150&a Piper pa18 the 150 is really a good plane- l fly other Cs. a 172 a210 but the 150 is great 👍 🛫🛫🛫🛫🛫👍👍👍

Loved the video, great 150 footage too. Despite the errors I am impressed with what you did present here. You listed things that I have never heard of in other videos but know are true from personal encounters in my aviation career.

A vintage 1977 Cessna 150 with flight worthiness certificate and somewhat modernised avionics can be bought for just under 20 thousand pounds. True that this is not a standard find. However, I have seen this on more than one occasion. Do not expect an aeroplane that affordable to be super modern, state of the art, cutting edge technology. You may have a modernised radio, maybe some updated gauges. But overall, you will get analogue gauges, carburetor equipped engines, and dated interiors. But you will have a functional aeroplane. A fully modernised, fuel injected retrofitted, fully updated interior aeroplane is not going to be a 20 thousand pound aircraft. However, I must add, the one Cessna 150 I saw with a fuel injected engine may have been a one time, unique, retrofit that someone did their self.

I've spent a lot of time in the right seat of C150s, with a fair amount of hands and feet on. I love them, they do what it says on the tin. The first that my dad owned, a C150B, when spinning was allowed and in the training syllabus, with 3/4 - to full tanks didn't ever want to spin. I think that the later sloping tail versions were better equipped to demonstrate all aspects of the envelope (make sure you've plenty of height or are good on the rudder pedals and keeping the wings level😉😉👍) 👍😄😄 Id love a nicely kitted out, later, Aerobat with some sensible modifications, super little aeroplanes.👍👍😊😊

The C-150 is one of the safest planes ever. It can just barely kill you.

I love this aircraft as it is the best trainer ever. It’s very forgiving! They should start making them again.

Easy to maintain, easy to fly, great bush plane, and even better when swap the engine for a rotax 912 .

If it were possible to know just how many people have, or had, 150/152 hours in their log books, and the grand total of all those, ranging from some record-holding career flight instructors who might have logged literally tens of thousands of hours all the way down to the documented crushed dreams of the sad individuals (like me) who put 1,5,10 hours into a now non-existent, lost and forgotten logbook, that would be a truly astonishing number, unrivaled, I would think. If one added to that the phenomenon of vast numbers of people who have interacted with a single product line, I suspect it might have for company things like Coca-Cola, Kleenex, and Beyer’s Aspirin .. certainly not many other things costing as much as a fairly nice car. I don’t know, but I would guess there are a few things meeting those criteria that would produce impressive numbers, things like Volkswagen Beetles, 1/2 ton Ford pickups, even the Piper Cub/Super Cub line and the venerable Cessna 170/172 series, but I would bet that whatever ranked second place in such an accounting would be a far-distant second place. This is the kind of ubiquitous thing seen only in things like a Model T Ford that have become icons of American Culture, and prevailing as such to this very day.

I have owned several of these... excellent plane if a little under powered.

Excellent video. I think the earliest model I flew was the 150 F. No manual flaps, but the pull starter. It's a good 2 seater, but I'd have to choose the 152 if I were buying.

I almost bought one a couple weeks ago but I couldn't pay what he wanted. We were only off by a bit but it needed paint and a few other things. And he wanted the money he had in it for the annual and maintenance he did. As much as I'd liked to have it it did need an overhaul sooner than later. I'd like to have one one day or something similar.

Good video my first solo was in the 152 a little nervous until the wheels left the runway

My first solo was in a Cessna 150 (1992).

Im picking up mine in july, cant wait...

Excellent stuff bro

Thank you for mentioning the aerobat

The dumbest thing the FAA ever did, was fail to let the 150/152 ( and similar weight aircraft) qualify under the light sport weight rule. Final nail in the coffin of General Aviation. AOPA should have not let that happen without a huge fight !

Yea, this 150H is my fav airplane.. Cant wait to get my liceence and get one!! I ,ive by. Fullerton Airport and i can walk to my Plane Buț still lots of obstacolele to pass!! I like a Bonanza also, the V tail and im keeping an ehe On it too.. But Cesna 150H is. Y fav... 😊❤️‼️

learned in a 150 in 76 or so. all the planes were new and rented for around 20$ an hr wet. a 206 was 55$ an hr.

Ive got a 1963 150 with a 160 hp conversion and hortan stall kit...it cruises at 130 and burns 7 gallons an hour...It climbs like a rocket....

I had a few hours of flight instruction on the 150M back in the late 70s. Never got my license because my father had financial troubles and ended up losing his plane. Wish I could afford to learn to fly. Local school near me charges $600 per hour. Flying is for the rich

Boy I got a lot of hours in a 150 and the 152 good planes.

Very easy to learn to fly in this one.

26ft wingspan vs 36 for other models means quicker roll rate. agile and more control authority means best crosswind landing cessna. love to circle to land tight still in a turn onemain touch

We have one up here in North Dakota for only $12,000. It has been in storage since 2014 on the farm.

My first flying lesson was in one of these little birds and I have had some stick time in them since. Cabin space isn't too bad if you're alone, just getting in (and out) is a pain.

I agree. Why the picture of a 172? Courtesy of Half Vast Flying

Nice choice for using NEFFEX as background music💯🔥

I prefer the Cherokee 140 but the C bird is a classic.

I believe that all things considered, it's hard to beat the 150, in the two-seater category. Adequate power, great fuel economy, rock solid handling and safety record.

I learned in a 1970 150, N6291G

I learned to flyn@vCDW, all C150, there was only 1 with dual, foe IFR TRAINING,,,,N3999S, I believe this on was first with a SHOULDER BELT, I’ll never know at the time NOBODY WANTED with that belt, I used it, I later rented from the flight school also, those days it was$23 wet with instructor ,,all aircraft were in excellent condition. Also they ran on 87 octane gas ,🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

I think the part that gets me is the 150, which as noted, would make a great first plane is the heavy for light sport? That is a shame.

we Own de LV-FKE!!!! Thanks for the video and explanation

Good ole Cessna. Makers of the only aircraft that could penetrate Soviet air defenses.

As basic trainers go it was quite good but the Reims built versions were always better. Not only was there an Aerobat version so proper spin training was possible but the Reims version also came with proper corrosion protection. Spinning in a basic 150 has always been forbidden and only spin avoidance training was allowed. That's why I learned to fly in a Piper Tomahawk.

Sure cessna 150 can handle well, but is is reaally slow, like 80kias, and if you have headwind 20kts, feels like you dont move much. Travelling with her is good when you are lucky, and have tailwind both ways. For travelling short distances, the 172RG is nice, and less expensive per prson. Diamond katana for example is like 30-50% faster then 150. We have a C150 rotax version at aeroclub with variable pitch constant speed propeller, and this is really good, low consumption as low as 4usgal per hour and speed 95-110kias depending on temperature. I have recently done AUPRT in a C150 and it was fun :)

I have quite a few hours in 150/152s but I like the RV-12 much better.