The Cessna 177 Cardinal is a light, high-wing general aviation

General aviation

General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...

 aircraft

Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...

 that was intended to replace Cessna's 172 Skyhawk

Cessna 172

The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is a four-seat, single-engine, high-wing fixed-wing aircraft. First flown in 1955 and still in production, more Cessna 172s have been built than any other aircraft.-Design and development:...

. First announced in 1967

1967 in aviation

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1967:- Events :* The Canadian Golden Centennaires aerobatic team is formed and performs all year to celebrate the Canadian centennial year....

, it was produced from 1968 to 1978.
The Cessna 177 was designed in the mid-1960s when the engineers at Cessna were asked to create a "futuristic 1970s successor to the Cessna 172

Cessna 172

The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is a four-seat, single-engine, high-wing fixed-wing aircraft. First flown in 1955 and still in production, more Cessna 172s have been built than any other aircraft.-Design and development:...

". The resulting aircraft featured newer technology such as a cantilever

Cantilever

A cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end. The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and shear stress. Cantilever construction allows for overhanging structures without external bracing. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs.This is in...

 wing with a laminar flow airfoil.

The 177 is the only production high-wing single-engined Cessna since the Cessna 190 & 195

Cessna 195

The Cessna 190 and 195 Businessliner are a family of light single radial engine powered, conventional landing gear equipped, general aviation aircraft which were manufactured by Cessna between 1947 and 1954....

 series to have both fixed landing gear and a cantilever wing without strut bracing.
The 1968 model 177 was introduced in late 1967 with a 150 hp (112 kW) engine.