The Cessna Model 170 and its immediate successors of the same family have the double distinction of being the best-selling series of lightplanes of all time, and also the most widely produced aircraft series yet developed, well over 30,000 examples having come off the production lines by the 1980s.

The origins of the series stretch back to 1948, when Cessna introduced the Model 170, itself little more than a four-seat, re-engineered development of the earlier Model 120. The Model 170 proved popular, but the type's real success started in 1953 when Cessna introduced the Model 170B: this was powered, like its predecessor, by the 108kW Continental CO145-2 air-cooled piston engine, but incorporated the slotted Fowler flaps pioneered for Cessna's Model 305. With these efficient flaps the field and low-speed performance of the Model 170 were improved radically, and all subsequent Cessna aircraft of the type have been designed round similar flaps.

In 1955 the company developed the Model 172, which was essentially a Model 170B with detail improvements and the tailwheel landing gear replaced by a spatted tricycle unit. The improved ground safety of the new variant proved immediately attractive, and in 1956 some 1,170 Model 172s were sold, compared with a mere 174 of the Model 170B, whose production was terminated.

In 1958 Cessna brought into production the Model 175. This was in effect the latest version of the Model 172 with a number of improvements (free-blown windscreen, glassfibre speed fairings, etc) and a 131kW GO-300-C geared engine driving a constant-speed propeller. In 1959 a de luxe version of the Model 175A was introduced as the Skylark, but the Model 175 / Skylark type was dropped from production in 1963.

At the same time as the de luxe version of the Model 175 appeared as the Skylark, a similar de luxe version of the Model 172 was introduced under the name Skyhawk. Further improvements were made in 1960, with the provision of a new rear fuselage (slimmer and with rear windows) and a stylish swept vertical tail. These modifications were also applied to the Skyhawk and the Skyhawk II, which featured yet more comprehensive equipment, adding sophisticated navigation and communication equipment to blind-flying instrumentation found in the Skyhawk. In March 1956 Cessna announced a new Model 182, which was an addition to the standard fixed-gear family, but powered by a 172kW Continental O-470-S. It was available in Standard, Skylane and Skylane II versions.

Since that time there has been continuing development and several changes and versions available in 1982 included the Model 172 Skyhawk and Skyhawk II, the Cutlass RG and Cutlass RG II which is basically a Model 172 With retractable landing gear, the Model 182 Skylane/Skylane II which is available also in Turbo Skylane and Turbo Skylane II with a 175kW Avco Lycoming O-540-L3C5D turbo-charged engine, and in Skylane RG and Skylane RG II and Turbo Skylane RG and Turbo Skylane RG II retractable landing gear equivalents.

The Model 172 also appealed to the US military and in July 1964 the US Air Force ordered 170 standard Cessna 172Ks powered by 134kW Continental O-360 engines for the Air Academy, and these were designated T-41A. In August 1966, the US Army bought 255 Model R172Es fitted with the more powerful 157kW IO-360D fuel injection engine, as the T-41B Mescalero. These were followed by similarly powered T-41Cs for the US Air Force, and export version, designated T-41D, for a number of other air forces under the Mutual Air Programme. Total production of the military T-41 series reached 864 built between 1963-83, and by the end of 1987 production of the 170, 172, 175 and 182 Models had reached over 60,000 including their civil and military derivatives.