This "project" happens to be located about 40 miles from my home here in central Kansas. I've known about it for some time, particularly from my career in Marketing at Cessna.
The airframe has quite an interesting history. Yep, Cessna was supposed to have destroyed it, then this guy discovered it some 20 years later in a Wichita salvage yard.
The Model 160, if Cessna had decided to certify and manufacture, would have been quite an airplane. The four-place Model 160 was to be priced at $8,450, between the 150 and 172. The prototype was powered by a 125-hp Franklin engine, providing a reported cruise speed of 134 mph. The 145-hp O-300 Continental engine was specified for the production Model 160, for a cruise speed of 143 mph. In a proposed military version, the Model 160M, a Continental IO-360 of 210 hp would have given a theoretical top cruise speed of 174 mph.
Interestingly enough, when Cessna went to designating a model number for the SkyCatcher, there were enough folks left to remember the airframe still setting out there at Lost Springs. So, now we have the "162" model designation.
For $10k, I doubt that Mr. Novak, the last reported owner, will get any bids. The buyer would be getting about $9,900 worth of aviation history, and probably 10 bucks worth of usable parts. But then, I suppose the price of scrap aluminum would be worth a bit more ...
