That’s a 1974 177B, above, thanks to owner Chris Berg. He said the Cardinal’s two best attributes are the size of the cabin (longer and wider than a 182) and the improved visibility in a turn compared to other Cessnas.
The short story of Cessna’s 177 Cardinal is it’s one of those should-have-been products that just never was. While the Cardinal is sleek, handsome and with decent payload and speed, it never quite pushed the 172 Skyhawk into retirement as Cessna had hoped it would. The 182 Skylane distorted the buying decision, too.