Tracing its roots to the pioneers of aviation,
the Cessna Aircraft Company is best known for manufacturing small, piston-powered aircraft,
providing both the novice and the most advanced aviators with a variety of aircraft models
that can cover different kinds of mission. Its founder, Clyde Cessna has made incredible
contributions to aviation not only by founding one of the most iconic and enduring aircraft
manufacturing companies, but also by laying out the design of high-efficiency general aviation
aircraft and the early monoplane design. Owing to its versatility, reliability, and
quality, the company had established benchmarks for the industry by becoming very popular and
attracting loyal customers. This line has some of the friendliest aircraft one can fly. From
the ever-popular, multi-purpose Cessna 172 to the classic Cessna 182 Skylane, the iconic Cessna
180 and 185 Skywagons beloved by backcountry pilots and the two-seat Cessna 152 trainer amongst
many more. Talking about the 182, it is safe to call it the Jack of All Trades. Its good hauling
capability, dispatch reliability and a relatively comfortable cabin keeps buyers confident and
comfortable with a long-term Skylane ownership. Winding the clock back to 1956, we reach the
beginning of the Cessna 182’s evolutionary history. It found its origin when the
company was doing what its best at: learning from previous designs and scaling them
up. That explains the 182’s resemblance to a giant Skyhawk, which itself looks like an inflated
150. Evolving from the 180 taildragger, the 182 was the company’s second tricycle gear aircraft
which was an immediate success like its sibling, the 172. Beginning as a tricycle-undercarriage
development of the Cessna 180, the 182 has had one of the longest production runs
for any General Aviation aircraft. Having said that, the Cessna 182 has gone through
many iterations since its introduction in 1956 and has been produced in a whooping 23 distinct
variants. It is a single-engine piston, four-seat, high wing, light aircraft
with almost 24,000 models produced. So what exactly makes C182 the Mr. Popular?
Its flexibility and ease of operation made it quite a star. Built from metal, mostly
aluminum, the C182 holds pride in its rigidity, durable airframe and strong body, which was
later covered in full paint. Known as Skylane, the company allowed variations in two design
features which the owners could mix and select according to their needs and
most importantly, their budget. The first one was the landing gear. With the
new tri-gear, the 182 did develop a nose-heavy tendency and the company never did sort this
out. Fixed landing gear increases drag which consequently brings a performance penalty but
we do know that every airplane is a compromise. The retractable gear is very impressive but that
too comes with a cost: increasing the aircraft’s overall weight and maintenance costs. Well,
now that’s a given for any additional moving parts added to an airplane. The retractable
gear variants R182 and TR182 were offered from 1978 to 1986 with 10-15% improvement in climb and
cruise speeds over their fixed-gear counterparts. We can also think of it as 10-15%
better fuel economy at the same speeds, at the expense of increased maintenance
costs and decreased gear robustness. The second factor is the engine type, and owners
can choose between Continental and Lycoming. In the first Cessna 182s, power was provided
by a 230-HP Continental O-470-L, an engine that proved to be such a worthy choice that some
variant of it was retained until the airplane went out of production in 1986. However, they were
quite susceptible to carb icing. The Lycoming, on the other hand, solves that problem and
has been installed in the later variants. Let’s take a look at the design
characteristics and features of the C182. Prized for short and rough field ops,
the original 182 was nothing less than an antique with its straight tail, windowless
back and the trim-over-bare aluminum body. This was then upgraded in the later models with
improvements including a rakish swept tailfin, the classic rear Omni-vision
window that everyone loves, a wider fuselage, an enlarged baggage compartment,
higher gross weights and landing gear changes. As new design features were
introduced every couple of years, Cessna embarked upon a continuous improvement
program. The next variant, 182A got an external baggage door, a redesigned gear and a 100-pound
higher gross weight. In 1958, 182 got its popular second name Skylane attached with it and later
the 182B with cowl flaps came out in 1959. The addition of a swept tail in 1960 upgraded it
into the 182C. This upgrade was nothing more than a styling move since the swept tail degraded
spin recovery and reduced rudder power. The next variant, 182D had lowered landing gear.
The 1962 182E was considered a modern Skylane with a significant upgrade over the earlier 182s
as it came with 26 new design features such as the rear window, an updated panel layout, a trim
tab and electric flaps. Not only this but the gross weight was boosted to 2800 pounds and a
redesigned fuel system with bladders raised the fuel capacity to 84 gallons. It was also fitted
with a different engine variant, the O-470-R. From the F model forward, until the S
arrived in 1997, changes were less dramatic. The G model had a child seat for the baggage bay,
while the 182H got an alternator to replace the generator. The next significant upgrade came with
the 1970 182N model in which the gross weight was increased to 2950 pounds and the spring-steel gear
was swapped for tapered tubular steel legs that allowed more fore-and-aft movement. In 1972, a
leading-edge cuff was added to the wing to improve low-speed handling, resulting in the 182P, a
variant that stayed in production through 1976. With the 1981 182R the gross weight was boosted to
3100 pounds and fuel capacity to 88 gallons, which was now stored in wet wings instead of bladders.
A turbocharged version was added to the line in 1981, the T-182RII, powered by a
Lycoming O-540 producing 235 HP. Production ended in 1986 with the 182R
and when it re-entered the market in 1997, Cessna introduced a newly retooled Skylane
for the next century. The biggest change was dropping the reliable O-470
for a 230-HP Lycoming IO-540-AB1A5. When it comes to the interior, the old Royalite
instrument panels were replaced by painted metal and have an excellent layout. The cabin and the
baggage compartment are quite spacious with a nice view, perfect for flying a family to enjoy
a great weather at the beach in great comfort. Speaking of passengers, the C182 can accommodate
a useful load of 1,110 lbs. However, its maximum payload is 950 lbs. and a Full Fuel Payload
of 588 lb. The Maximum Takeoff Weight has exceeded to 3,100 lbs. in the modern variants.
When it comes to the power plant, the aircraft has been powered by different engines throughout the
variants. In all of general aviation, there are perhaps a handful of engine-airframe combinations
that are nearly perfect. The 182/O-470 pairing is one of them. The initial models from 182 to 182D
were all powered by a carbureted 230 hp (172 kW) Continental O-470-L engine, followed by another
engine variant of Continental, the O-470-R for the 182E till the 182P model. The S and U engine
variants were then incorporated in the next models till the 182R Skylane, after which the company
dropped the reliable O-470 for a 230-HP fuel-injected Lycoming IO-540-AB1A5 in the 182S.
The later models were also equipped with Lycoming. Owing to its relative simplicity, the O-470
series is relatively inexpensive to overhaul. The dimensions of 182 include its height
of 9 feet 4 in, length of 29 feet, with a wingspan of 36 feet which is the
same as C172. Not only the wing planform, but some wing details such as the flap and aileron
design are also the same as its sibling C172. It has a service ceiling of 18,100 feet
and a maximum climb rate of 924 fpm. The maximum range is 915 nm which is
about a third of the United States. It offers a 20 knots increase in cruise speed over
its predecessor, providing a more efficient ride. Although a cruise speed of 140
knots doesn’t make it a speed demon and trips may not be all that fast, but
speed is not why people buy these airplanes. The design of the fuel system in terms of
simplicity and ease of management is admirable. On each strut, there are foot mounts for easy
access enabling pilots to refuel with ease. Widely liked and used by a multitude of civil
operators, cadet organizations, and flight schools worldwide, the C182 is powered by the GARMIN
G1000 NXi which is the latest technology in integrated cockpit avionics. It’s hard to imagine
a communication and navigation system with more talent. It includes the standard features such
as the IFR High and Low Charts with Night Mode, Integrated VFR Sectional Charts, Selectable
Visual Approaches and Standard Garmin Electronic Stability and Protection (ESP) and Under Speed
Protection (USP). With simplified maintenance, Cessna never looked back once it switched to
Garmin as it essentially brings all the tricks of airline cockpits to the ranks of general aviation.
The one trait which has guaranteed the success of both the 172 and 182 is simplicity. They are the
basic and ordinary airplanes for the purpose of transportation with minimum of fuss and bother,
reasonable comfort and a relatively low cost. Skylane buyers and owners look for ample
room, good load carrying, stability and generally benign handling when they buy the
aircraft, and definitely get the best of it. Cessna 182 is a titan of
general aviation’s golden era. Its ability to go into some quite short strips is
one of its most impressive facets. Its excellent short field characteristics make it an awesome
choice for exploring unpaved airstrip operations. Furthermore, unlike most piston-powered airplanes
requiring a longer run to take off than to land, it comfortably and easily
takes off from shorter runways. For a four-seat airplane, the C182 can carry a
lot and this has earned the aircraft a really good reputation. The fact that even with full fuel
there is still enough room for carrying passengers makes it a true four-person airplane. Its useful
load and versatility has proven to be one the biggest assets in owning a 182. Combine this with
its amazing fuel efficiency and range, you get to experience the complete perks of this airplane.
Its IFR stability is worth mentioning. It is reputable and has earned the most
respect due to its forgiving nature. With typical Cessna simplicity, these forgiving
machines ignore major indiscretions and bring you home safely. The aircraft has a quite reasonable
climb and cruise. It’s not speed, climb, payload, reliability or short-field performance that
makes it an all-rounder airplane, but all these parameters combined makes it an excellent
performer. Its parts are easily available at basically all the maintenance shops, which is
critically important for any aircraft owner. So what exactly is the downside of the
mighty 182? Nose heaviness has always been a problem for the 182, and has plagued the
aircraft since the beginning. To this day, the airplane requires aggressive re-trimming
during the flare to prevent wheelbarrowing. Cessna 182 comes with a price tag of
around 550,000 dollars for a new model whereas a used model can be bought in the 100
to 200,000 dollars range. With this in mind, it can be hard to believe that way back
in 1956, the very first new Cessna 182 was on the market for only $17,700.
Every aircraft is suitably recommended for specific uses and operations depending on
its characteristics, features and performance. When we apply this principle to this aircraft,
the high wing design provides excellent view and visibility of the ground and therefore makes it
suitable for operations such as aerial surveying. Additionally, high wings also provide increased
ground clearance and help to avoid obstacles, especially when landing on grass or rough
surfaces. This also makes it suitable to be used as a training aircraft where student
pilots can learn to fly the aircraft in different conditions and surfaces, especially since it
has shorter takeoff and landing distances. As it also has a much better useful load and can
carry more people, this also makes it suitable for operations involving more passengers e.g. air
taxi, personal family use or for tour operations. With greater fuel efficiency, the 182 has a longer
range than the C172 and can fly continuous without the need of refueling. Apart from this, it
is some 15-20 knots faster than the 172, making it suitable for tours and trips.
When owning an aircraft, everything comes down to a tradeoff. An airplane might be faster than
another, but it might not be able to carry much load. It might be able to fly much further,
but it might not land short. With the C182, one has to make the least amount of tradeoffs
as it will do a little bit of almost everything. From its fuel efficiency, good range
and impressive short-field performance, to its amazing stability, comfortable cabin and
useful load capacity, 182 is one of the only aircraft that will perform, if not the best, in
every aspect an airplane is expected to perform. To conclude, Skylanes are almost
universally regarded as wonderful machines, blessed with docile handling,
reasonable performance, good reliability, and in some cases full fuel, four-place
capability. Being the master of simplicity, 182 has and will continue to attract
the aviators looking out for simple, reasonably comfortable, 2+2 transport
with good performance and manners. However to achieve the best performance
in any aircraft, it is vital to study all the parameters carefully and rigorously.
Simultaneously, safety and good judgement is always recommended to all the pilots to keep the
aircraft operations within the safety envelope.
