The 170, having attained classic status, is a ûtough airplane to shop for; there are some ûtruly beautiful restorations out there that can ûcommand top dollar.

It’s a good-performing, honest four-seater and also a lot of fun to fly. Like any other taildragger, though, it can bite. And though 170s still are quite affordable, prices continue to climb.

Cessna built 5,136 of the airplanes in a nine-year production run that ended over 40 years ago. But time has taken a toll on the population. Today, considerably less than half of the airplanes are still flying; and accident records show that ground loops and hard landings are continuing to thin out the 170 fleet at quite a clip. …