Photograph:
Cessna R182 Skylane RG II VH-PUF (c/n R182-01788) at Cowra, NSW in September 2010 (David C Eyre)
Country of origin:
United States of America
Description:
Four-seat cabin monoplane
Power Plant:
One 175 kw (235 hp) Avco Lycoming O-540-J3C5D six-cylinder horizontally-opposed air-cooled engine
Specifications:
- Wingspan: 10.92 m (35 ft 10 in)
- Length: 8.72 m (28 ft 7½ in)
- Height: 2.72 m (8 ft 11 in)
- Wing area: 16.2 m² (174 sq ft)
- Max speed at sea level: 296 km/h (184 mph)
- Cruising speed at 75% power at 2,286 m (7,500 ft): 289 km/h (180 mph)
- Stalling speed flaps down: 93 km/h (58 mph)
- Initial rate of climb: 347 m/min (1,140 ft/min)
- Service ceiling: 4,359 m (14,300 ft)
- Max range at 3,048 m (10,000 ft): 2,102 km (1,316 miles)
- Take-off run: 250 m (820 ft)
- Landing run over 15 m (50 ft) obstacle: 479 m (1,570 ft)
- Landing run: 183 m (600 ft)
- Fuel capacity: 348 litres (76.55 Imp gals)
- Empty weight: 786 kg (1,732 lb)
- Loaded weight: 1,406 kg (3,100 lb)
History:
Following the production of almost 17,000 Cessna 182 Skylanes, Cessna in 1977 decided to build a model of the well proven design with a retractable undercarriage, thus providing an aircraft with the proven reliability of its predecessor with the increased speed and fuel efficiency of a retractable undercarriage. The new model proved quite successful on the market, and in 1979 Cessna introduced the Turbo Skylane RG model, this having the turbocharged Avco Lycoming O-540-L3C5D engine of similar power but providing a max speed at 6,096 m (20,000 ft) of 346 km/h (215 mph), permitting this model to have a range at that altitude of 1,880 km (1,168 miles).
The 182RG model was said to be introduced in response to customer demand for improved performance combined with established Skylane economy. Apart from the retractable undercarriage the RG was substantially identical with the Skylane but was fitted with a de-rated Lycoming engine in place of the Teledyne Continental unit installed in fixed undercarriage models. The undercarriage retracted into the fuselage in similar fashion to the Centurion, the main undercarriage legs folding back and the nose wheel forward. The turbocharged variant was added to the range in 1979, at that time introducing the Lycoming engine rather than the Continental unit, and introducing a bonded wing structure which increased the fuel capacity by 45.4 litres (10 Imp gals).
First examples of the Skylane RG were seen in Australia early in 1980 and the type proved quite popular with more than 80 examples of both the standard Model 182RG and the turbocharged model being imported.