| Cessna EC-2 | |
| Type: | Light Tourer Glider |
| National Origin: | USA |
| Construction Date: | 1930 |
| Manufacturers: | Cessna Aircraft Company |
| Designer: | Eldon Cessna |
| Civil Registration: | N403W, N405W |
| Retired: | January 10, 1940 |
The Cessna Model EC-2 was a 1930s American two-seat tourer built by the Cessna Aircraft Company. They developed the Model EC-2, a low-cost aircraft, as a response to the market downturn caused by the Great Depression. Only one prototype was built and it did not go into production. A single-seat version, the Model EC-1, was also developed.
Cessna Aircraft was suffering in the depression and downturn in the economy following the Wall Street crash. Eldon Cessna, the son of Clyde Cessna designed a low-cost, cheap-to-operate aircraft to meet the new conditions.[1] The Model EC-2 was powered by an Aeronca 30 hp (22 kW) E-107A engine.[2] [3] It did not go into production and one of the prototype was cancelled while the other crashed years later when a student stalled it with an instructor. As a first step in the project, a single-seat version of the Model EC-1 was developed as an ongoing evolution of the Cessna CG-2 Primary Glider, using small engines.[4] [5] Archival evidence so far indicates only two were produced, N403W and N405W.[6] [7] The plane has picked up the nickname "the Baby Cessna." The color was red with a creme side stripe.[8] [9]