Cessna Turbo 182

This Skylane develops full power all the way up to 20,000 feet

By Bill Cox, Photography By Rich Cox

This Skylane develops full power all the way up to 20,000 feet. Like many of you, I’ve logged my share of hours in C-182s of one description or another, fixed gear and retractable, normally aspirated and turbocharged. By any measure, Skylanes are nothing short of wonderful machines, blessed with docile handling, reasonable performance, good reliability and (in many cases) true, full-fuel, four-place capability.

These days, creature comforts are generally excellent, regardless of the size of your creatures, the avionics suite is nothing short of amazing, and the airplane continues to carry a phenomenal payload. Still, position an old and a new Skylane side by side in bare aluminum trim, and you might be hard-pressed to tell the difference. Rumors have been flying for several years about Cessna’s all-new, four-place piston single, but until that taxis up onto the ramp, the Skylane and Turbo Skylane represent the state-of-the-art from the Independence, Kan., manufacturer.

Just as the Cub was the generic airplane of the ‘30s and ‘40s, and the butterfly-tail Bonanza dominated the ’50s and ‘60s, the Skylane has come to be regarded by many as the definitive general-aviation design of the ‘70s and ‘80s. The C-182 has evolved into a handsome package that continues to endear itself and give the competition a run for the money, specifically because the basic design hasn’t changed.