Cessna 182 Skylane


The Cessna 182 Skylane is an American four-seat, single-engined light airplane built by Cessna of Wichita, Kansas. It has the option of adding two child seats in the baggage area.
Introduced in 1956, the 182 has been produced in several variants, including a version with retractable landing gear, and is the second-most popular Cessna model still in production after the 172.

Development

The Cessna 182 was introduced in 1956 as a tricycle gear variant of the 180. In 1957, the 182A variant was introduced, followed by a deluxe version the following year known as the Skylane. As production continued, later models were improved regularly with features such as a wider fuselage, swept tailfin with rear "omni-vision" window, enlarged baggage compartment, higher gross weights, landing gear changes, etc. The "restart" aircraft built after 1996 were different in many other details, including a different engine, new seating design, etc.
By mid-2013, Cessna planned to introduce the next model of the 182T, designated the JT-A, using the SMA SR305-230 diesel engine running on Jet-A with a burn rate of per hour at cruise speed of. Cessna has no timeline for the JT-A. The normally aspirated, avgas-fueled 182 went out of production in 2012, but came back in 2015.
Cessna 182s were also built in Argentina by DINFIA, as the A182, and in France by Reims Aviation, as the F182.

Design

The Cessna 182 is an all-metal aircraft, although some parts - such as engine cowling nosebowl and wingtips - are made of fiberglass or thermoplastic material. Its wing has the same planform as the smaller Cessna 172 and the larger 205/206 series; however, some wing details, such as flap and aileron design, are the same as the 172 and are not like the 205/206 components.

Retractable gear

The retractable gear R182 and TR182 were offered from 1978 to 1986, without and with engine turbocharging, respectively. The model designation nomenclature differs from some other Cessna models with optional retractable gear. For instance, the retractable version of the Cessna 172 was designated as the 172RG and the 177RG, whereas the retractable gear version of the Cessna 182 is the R182. Cessna gave the R182 the marketing name of "Skylane RG".
The R182 and TR182 offer 10-15% improvement in climb and cruise speeds over their fixed-gear counterparts, and similarly, 10-15% better fuel economy at the same speeds at the expense of increased maintenance costs and decreased gear robustness. The 1978 R182 has a sea-level climb rate of and a cruising speed at of TAS at standard temperature.
The landing-gear retraction system in the Skylane RG uses hydraulic actuators powered by an electrically driven pump. The system includes a gear position warning that emits an intermittent tone through the cabin speaker when the gear is in the retracted position and either the throttle is reduced below about manifold pressure or the flaps are extended beyond 20°. In the event of a hydraulic pump failure, the landing gear may be lowered using a hand pump to pressurize the hydraulic system. The system does not, however, allow the landing gear to be manually retracted.

Variants

Cessna has historically used model years similar to U.S. auto manufacturers, with sales of new models typically starting a few months prior to the actual calendar year.
;182
;182A
;182B
;182C
;182D
;182E
;182F
;182G
;182H
;182J
;182K
;182L
;182M
;182N
;182Q Skylane
;182R/T182 Skylane
;182S Skylane
;182T/T182T Skylane

Special versions

;J182T Turbo Skylane JT-A
;Robertson STOL 182

Operators

Civil users

The 182 is used by a multitude of civil operators, cadet organizations, and flight schools worldwide.

Government operators

  • Argentine Federal Police - one A182L from 2001 is still in service for training as of 2020.
  • Federal Police
  • Transport Canada – one, sold in 2010
  • Civil Air Patrol – used for inland and coastal search and rescue, homeland security support, and airborne communications repeater service
  • Federal Bureau of Investigation - at least 27 used as surveillance aircraft equipped with optical, infrared and cellphone ELINT equipment

    Military operators

  • Afghan Air Force
  • Army Aviation
  • Austrian Air Force - 2x Cessna 182 A/B
  • Belize Defence Force Air Wing
  • Canadian Army – 5 × L-182, retired 1970
;
  • Dominican Air Force - one example with retractable gear
  • Ecuadorian Army – 4
  • Salvadoran Air Force
  • Indonesian Air Force – 2x Cessna 182T
  • Mexican Air Force Received 73 during 1999–2000
  • United Arab Emirates Air Force
  • Uruguayan Air Force
  • Venezuelan Army
  • Venezuelan Air Force

    Specifications (Cessna 182T)