Cessna 182 Skylane

Cessna 182 Skylane (13)

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, installed in the baggage area. Introduced in 1956, the 182 has been produced in a number of variants, including a version with retractable landing gear, and is the second most popular Cessna model, after the 172.

First-Time Buyer: Steve Bloom & His Beautiful Cessna 182

First-Time Buyer: Steve Bloom & His Beautiful Cessna 182

06 February 2019 | Written by | Published in Cessna 182 Skylane
With a little hard work, help from his friends—and a reputable aircraft dealer—Steve Bloom turned his lifelong dream of aircraft ownership into a “better-than-expected 182” reality. While I was walking the grounds of Sun ‘n Fun in Lakeland, Florida, last April, I received a surprise call from my nephew, Steve. He, along with his CFI and another pilot friend, had come to the spring fly-in to “look at airplanes”—nothing unusual there. Sun ‘n Fun is a great place for airplane geeks to ogle and goggle. But when I finally tracked the trio down at an exhibit, Steve explained that in this case, “look” actually meant looking—as in, looking for what kind of airplane he wanted to buy. Needless to say, as his uncle and lifelong wannabe airplane owner myself, I was thrilled at the prospect of sharing the aircraft search-and-purchase adventure with my nephew. It was vicarious for sure, but…
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December 2018 Barnstormers 182 skylane Sandhills Publishing CosbyHarrison Tradeaplane Buying a plane Firsttime buying Steve Bloom Facebook groups
The 182 That Got Away

The 182 That Got Away

19 December 2018 | Written by | Published in Cessna 182 Skylane
Geoff Smathers always regretted the selling of the family 182. More than two decades later he bought it back. “My dad loved to fly,” Geoff Smathers of Mars, Penn. told me. “The Skylane was his fifth or sixth airplane. He and my mom, Meg Smathers (now Meg S. Bauschard) used them for pleasure and business.” His father purchased the 182L, N42364, new in 1968. “My brother, Win S. Smathers IV, was born the same year. I was born in 1970,” Smathers explained. “My mom, my brother and I flew a lot with my dad in the 1970s,” he recalled. “My brother and I grew up flying with my dad—and fighting over the coveted copilot seat.” His father based the plane at Butler County Airport (KBTP) in Butler, Penn. from 1968 to 1981. “My dad lost his medical in the early 1980s, and he let his business partner, Wilson Amsler, take…
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July 2016 182 Geoff Smathers skylane Seattle Avionics’ FlyQ garmin pilot foreflight PS Engineering, Inc Whelen Engineering Co, Inc Garmin Ltd N42364
Creating a “Mountain Goat” 182, Step One: Off-airport Landing Gear

Creating a “Mountain Goat” 182, Step One: Off-airport Landing Gear

29 August 2018 | Written by | Published in Cessna 182 Skylane
With a successful top-end inspection completed, STEVE ELLS guides a new owner through the first steps to make his Cessna 182 a reliable backcountry plane. Bill hangars his 1966 Cessna 182J Skylane in the hangar next to mine at the Paso Robles Municipal Airport (KPRB). Bill is tall, drives a pickup, is comfortably retired—and enjoys flying. He has owned his 182 for four years. It has carried him on cross-country flights to Kansas, Phoenix and San Diego. Since I’ve known him, it seems most of his flights consist of short day-VFR trips to take his wife for lunch. Last September I saw that Bill’s hangar was open, so I stepped over to catch up. Bill told me that Greg, who was there with him, wanted to buy his airplane. Bill hadn’t mentioned wanting to sell. Interested, I listened. Bill introduced me as a guy that knew a lot about Cessna…
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June 2018 182 Mountain Goat Offairport Landing Gear 182J Continental Motors
So Long/Hello Bill

So Long/Hello Bill

27 April 2018 | Written by | Published in Cessna 182 Skylane
January 2016 After more than a decade and a half of upgrades and flying adventures—many of them published in Cessna Flyer—contributing editor Charles Lloyd recently handed off his pampered 182 to a new owner. “There comes a time when two people sit down at a table to sign and exchange papers,” says aviation author Richard Bach.1 “Then an airplane, with all its logbooks and other important papers, flies away with a new owner. “One thing that the previous owner never relinquishes,” Bach continues, “is the memories of flights in this wonderful flying machine.” As I write this today, Bill, our pampered Cessna 182, has left his heated hangar at Lake Waltanna, Kan. (SN65) and headed east to a new home at St. Louis Downtown Airport (KCPS) in Cahokia, Ill. So Long During the last 16 years, Bill evolved from a homely 1966 Cessna 182 to a very nice IFR “get-you-where-you-need-to-go”…
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cessna 182 skylane adventures with bill January 2016
Peterson’s Performance Planes: Efficiency, safety and speed in a modified Cessna 182

Peterson’s Performance Planes: Efficiency, safety and speed in a modified Cessna 182

20 April 2018 | Written by | Published in Cessna 182 Skylane
Former owner and longtime enthusiast Kevin Moore takes a look at Peterson's Performance Plus 182 conversions old and new. The white Cessna 182 glistened in the bright October sun. As I approached from the rear I noted the landing gear speed kit, and then the nose-mounted canard and three-blade propeller which revealed that this was not your father’s Skylane. The Kenai logo on the tail along with “300 hp fuel injection by Peterson” on the cowling further evinced something special. “Climb aboard,” said Todd Peterson. Todd’s wife Jo, who is his business partner—and like him, an accomplished aerobatic pilot—graciously granted me the copilot’s seat and relaxed in the back. I settled comfortably into the plush leather. The functional and luxurious cabin environment rekindled my memories. For more than a decade, I’d owned and flown a similar airplane from Peterson’s Performance Plus. After a brief pulse of the boost pump, Todd…
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Inspection Tips for the Cessna 182

Inspection Tips for the Cessna 182

02 March 2018 | Written by | Published in Cessna 182 Skylane
Steve Ells, A&P/IA and Cessna expert, has decades of experience working on Cessna single-engine aircraft. Here he lists the common problems and areas of concern on Cessna 182s for the third in our four-part series focusing on Cessna Skylanes. The Cessna 182 is a tough, dependable airplane—but like all machines, there are areas that are problematic or components that should be improved or upgraded. Cessna Aircraft has developed a series of inspection guidelines for its 182 series airplanes. Those guidelines are titled “Continuing Airworthiness Program (CAP) Structural Inspections” and are available in SEL-05-01R1. Cessna has also developed a list of inspections for its Supplemental Structural Inspection (SID) Program. The SID for the 1969-76 Cessna 182 is 208 pages long; it’s detailed. Cessna’s CAP and SID programs focus on corrosion and metal fatigue cracking. Both of these programs along with Service Bulletin (SB) information and Service Kits (SKs) are available online.…
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November 2016
Flying the Cessna 182

Flying the Cessna 182

05 September 2017 | Written by | Published in Cessna 182 Skylane
Former 182 owner and longtime A&P/IA Steve Ells offers many practical suggestions for operating a Cessna Skylane in this last “leg” of his four-part series on the 182. “The pilot is no more than the manager of this tool and its champion. The pilot is the inspiration for flight and the airplane is the vehicle.” —Richard Coffey, “The Skylane Pilots Companion” The Cessna 182 is a damn fine airplane. I owned N777LJ, a 1966 Cessna 182J, for about four years. While the recommendations in this article may vary (at times, widely) from those written in both the engine and airframe manufacturer’s manual and handbooks, I wrote them based on my own experiences, the experiences of other very seasoned pilots and owner-operators, the writings of Richard Coffey in “The Skylane Pilots Companion” and John Schwaner in “Sky Ranch Engineering Manual,” the research of trained specialists, and suggestions from experienced C-182 owner…
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December 2016 182

Modifications and Good Things for the Cessna 182

22 January 2015 | Written by | Published in Cessna 182 Skylane
April 2005- The observation that Bill is a pampered Cessna 182 borders on understatement. This Skylane left the Cessna factory in December 1966 as a state-of-the-art IFR flying machine with a full avionics stack including an autopilot.Bill now shares a 60 x 80-foot heated hangar with three other aircraft. As he resides in these comfy surroundings, his owner continually upgrades his equipment list with numerous STCs, Field Modifications and additional Cessna Options.
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More Mods, More Modern: Even More Good Things for the 182

More Mods, More Modern: Even More Good Things for the 182

30 July 2014 | Written by | Published in Cessna 182 Skylane
August 2014- Bill, our trusty 1966 Cessna 182, has an insatiable appetite for modifications and other enhancements. These enhancements cover the spectrum from performance mods, to instruments, to avionics.Nine years ago I wrote a two-part article on what Bill's equipment list included since he left Wichita as a shiny new airplane in December 1966. The assorted mods discussed in these two articles included more than 40 STCs and Field Approvals.In the last nine years, the equipment list has grown. Some of these items were subjects for detailed articles published in Cessna Flyer, and these additional mods continue to add to Bill's performance, comfort and safety. (Article archives are available at in a keyword-searchable form, as well as by month and year, at CessnalFlyer.org. —Ed.) HistoryAs of spring 2005, Bill's equipment highlights included:Custom instrument panel (replacement of the early "pinball machine" design)Dual Garmin GPS navigatorsS-TEC Model 40 single-axis autopilotL-3 StormscopeAudio response…
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Skylane Success Story

Skylane Success Story

28 July 2014 | Written by | Published in Cessna 182 Skylane
 August 2014- Fast on the heels of the 172, Cessna released its second tricycle gear aircraft: the 182.* Based on the rugged 180, it had the fastback-style straight tail lines of that model, but came with Land-O-Matic landing gear, a redesigned cowling and a 230 hp Continental O-470L engine. Like its sibling the 172, the 182 was an immediate success. Jim Ellis, in "Buying and Owning your Own Airplane," gives us a hint as to why: "There's nothing too little or too underpowered about the Skylane. This is a big, solid, powerful handful... an honest airplane." Certified on March 2, 1956, the brand-new Cessna 182 sells at a price of $13,570; 843 of the initial variant are produced. Changes, improvementsThe A model saw a gross weight increase from 2,550 to 2,650 pounds and the main landing gear lowered four inches, increasing gear track by 5.4 inches. In 1958 the Skylane,…
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