The Top 10 Light Planes

First manufactured in 1955 with wooden wing spars that required lots of inspections to keep in airworthy condition, the Mooney M20 quickly became an all-metal aircraft. Eventually, different variants of the family were produced in three fuselage lengths and the M20's engine power -- and cruise speed -- grew until it became the fastest production piston single available. Some 52 years after the Mooney M20 first flew, it is still in production as the Mooney M20TN Acclaim, which cruises at an impressive 272 mph at up to 25,000 feet. The aircraft pictured is a 1965-built M20C.

Designed to replace the pre-war de Havilland Tiger Moth as a basic trainer, the Chipmunk was the first aircraft produced by the de Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd., based at Downsview, Ontario and now part of Bombardier Aerospace. The fully aerobatic Chipmunk first flew in 1946 and soon became the primary trainer of the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Air Force, and many smaller air forces worldwide. Most Chipmunks were built by de Havilland in the UK, but more than 200 were built in Canada and 66 in Portugal. The Chipmunk became popular for recreational and agricultural flying, particularly after it was retired from RAF and RCAF service in the 1970s. Many still fly in the UK, Canada, Australia and the U.S.

First produced in 1936, the Fi 156 quickly became known as the 'Storch' (stork) because in flight its long undercarriage legs, its wide cockpit and its large wings made it look like a long-legged bird. The Storch was the Luftwaffe's standard liaison and spotting plane during World War II and became famous for its amazing short-takeoff-and-landing performance. When flying into a light breeze, it took off in 150 feet (45 meters) and landed in only 60 feet (18 meters). Otto Skorzeny used a Storch in his daring rescue of Mussolini from a mountaintop surrounded by Italian soldiers. The aircraft's wings could fold back along its fuselage, allowing it to be towed behind a vehicle. The Fi 156 was also built in Czechoslovakia (until 1949) and in France (as the Morane-Saulnier MS.500 Criquet) until the 1950s. The aircraft here, in French colors, is a Criquet.

Like its Western contemporary the DHC-1 Chipmunk, the Yakovlev Yak-18 entered service in 1946 as the primary two-seat trainer for the Soviet Air Forces. The early Yak-18A was built in large numbers and then later versions were developed as aerobatic and light transport aircraft. Sizeable numbers also were built in China as Nanchang CJ-5s and CJ-6s. The four-seat Yak-18T -- shown here -- and the two-seat Yak-54, another derivative of the Yak-18, are still in production.

Stearman, which became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934, began building its Model 75 biplane basic trainer in the early 1930s. The U.S. Army Air Force adopted the rugged and reliable aircraft as a primary trainer, calling it the Kaydet, and the aircraft also became a basic trainer for the U.S. Navy. Nearly 8,600 were produced in the 1930s and 1940s for military use and after World War II large numbers of war-surplus Stearmans were bought to be used as crop dusters and sport aircraft. Many flew at air shows and one is shown here performing a modern-day display with a wing-walker harnessed to the top of its upper wing.

First manufactured in 1960, the four-seat, all-metal PA-28 Cherokee is still being produced 47 years later, surviving the 1990s bankruptcy and resurrection of the company that first built it. One of the most popular recreational and touring single-engine piston aircraft of the modern era, the Cherokee became a family of models with well over a dozen members. These range from the Cherokee 140 -- a two-seat aircraft with a 150-horsepower engine designed as a primary trainer for flight-school use -- to today's turbocharged PA-28R-200T and the Saratoga II, which has a retractable landing gear. The Cherokee is in use as a recreational and training aircraft throughout the world.

Powerful, fast and originally featuring a highly distinctive V-tail, the Beechcraft Bonanza made its first appearance in 1945 as the model 35. As a result of a high-profile series of fatal accidents, the V-tail version became suspected of having structural flaws, and while Beech never found conclusive proof this was the case, it eventually dropped the V-tail design in 1982 in favor of developing the longer-fuselage, conventional-tail model 36 Bonanza first introduced in 1968. From 1959 until 1995 Beech also produced another version of the Bonanza, the model 33 Debonair. The model G36 is still being produced by Hawker Beechcraft and more than 17,000 examples of the long-lived Bonanza single-engine piston family of aircraft have been built to date.

Derived from the earlier de Havilland Gipsy Moth, the elegant DH-82 Tiger Moth biplane was developed in the 1930s and became the standard primary trainer for the Royal Air Force and the air forces of most other Commonwealth countries throughout the Second World War. Some 12,000 were produced, more than 7,000 of them in the UK and more than 4,600 in other countries throughout the world. These included 1,523 of the DH-82C model built by de Havilland Canada, a version that featured a slightly more powerful Gipsy Major engine and an enclosed glass cockpit for cold-weather operations. The U.S. Army Air Force bought 200 of these aircraft. After the war, many hundreds of Tiger Moths found their way on to the civil market and were used as agricultural and recreational aircraft throughout the world. More than 200 are still flying.

Developed from the 1930 Taylor E-2 Cub by Piper, which bought the bankrupt company's assets, the two-seat Piper J-3 Cub taildragger became the primary trainer of the U.S. Civilian Pilot Training Program and four-fifths of all U.S. military pilots in the Second World War received their initial flight training in the type. More than 19,000 had been built by the time Piper ended production in 1947 in favor of the PA-11, a developed version that sold some 1,500 examples. A related and popular member of the family was the PA-12 Super Cruiser. The PA-11 gave way to the PA-18-95 Super Cub, which Piper introduced in 1949 and eventually stopped making in 1981. However, other companies subsequently have produced kits or plans for Super Cubs and more than 9,000 have been produced. One of the most popular light-aircraft families of all time, the Piper Cub/Super Cub family is revered for its wonderful short-takeoff-and-landing capabilities.

The most-produced light aircraft in history, the Cessna 172 Skyhawk first appeared in 1956 and is still in volume production today, though production was suspended for more than a decade from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. More than 43,000 Skyhawks have been built and the four-seater remains one of the most popular touring and training aircraft in the world. Go to any general-aviation airport and you'll probably see dozens of Cessna 172s. Dozens of versions of the Cessna 172 and the closely related Cessna 175 have been produced in the U.S. and (by Reims Aviation) in France. Offering a high-wing design, a low stall speed and a high degree of stability at low speeds, the Cessna 172 is an excellent search-and-rescue aircraft and forms the backbone of the Civil Air Patrol in the United States. The type is also operated by many air forces throughout the world.