And THAT'S what my first plane was. A BTer had it until last year. I just looked - finished another IFR flight 15 hours ago. Since ya like the fastback, here's a pic that shows it. I was always partial to the fastback Mustangs, too....




And 5 planes later, what do I have? Ya know, I still see that ol' DE from time to time. I need to invite him for a $300 hamburger sometime.

Jack, the first two pics are Dolores Point airstrip a couple thousand feet above Gateway Co -no FAA designation AIR, the next is Hubbard Field 9CO3 directly west and 75’ above Canyonlands Resort in Gateway, the remaining are all Fry Canyon UT 74 in SE Utah. The Vtail belongs with BTers James and Katie Gallagher.

This is so true. I remember the first time I flew a Skylane I expected to be basically flying a 172, but from engine start to climb realized I was in something very different!

I can see the point you're attempting to make but can't agree 100%.
I like the 182 but...I'd have to own 3 planes if I bought one.

Excellent, thanks Eric - need to visit those.

They are reliable, relatively inexpensive to operate, "enough" airplane an experienced pilot will enjoy flying them, "easy enough" someone can learn to fly in one.


Not the best in class at any one thing, but "real good" at a lot of things.


first solo....

And that ladies and gentlemen is a "problem" I would love to have.



RAS

A 182 simply does everything well. It does this at the right combination of price, performance, and compromise in attributes. It's good enough to be your last airplane if you decide not to further upgrade.

There's few other airplanes that I can say this about.

Maybe some day Tom and his camera will attack the plane, but this cameraphone magic will have to suffice for now:

I have flown Skylines since I was a teenager and Bonanzas almost that long. I have owned both including a new '92 F-33 that I flew for three years.

I don't really favor one over the other. In fact, I almost look at them as being the same airplane: reliable, easy to fly, economical, and efficient. The Skylane does "this and that better", the Bonanza does "that and this" better, but neither is significantly better at anything.

Not withstanding some of the comments posted here, I have maintained both to "exacting" standards and the Skylane is cheaper by a fair margin.

The dividing line, for me, is simply mission profile. If 75% of my "mission" is less than 300 nm, I'll take the Skylane without hesitancy. Move my profile beyond 300 miles and the speed of the Bonanza starts to become the trump card.

To me, it is simply NOT an "us versus them" debate. They are the two best GA aircraft ever built.

Jg

It is easy to fly, load it anyway you want, easy to get in and out, don't have to stand on the wings while someone is getting in the back, don't have to worry about the gear.

The only bad thing I true out 172 knots in my F33A, our previous 182 trued out around 135 knots.

http://www.airplains.com/cessna-182-h-r-conversion#powerplant

Our Air Plains IO-520 conversion C-182M will cruise at 155 KTAS!

This sounds like a classic trip to Abilene but I'm not going...

I love all airplanes but the 182 isn't one I have much affection for. We had one in the flying club I belonged to years ago and I have a few hours in it. It flew like an old couch with the stuffing hanging out, wallowed all over the sky taking forever to get from A to B while burning an unreasonable amount of fuel to get there. They did improve the basic idea with the 210's comedic interpretation of a crippled grasshopper in the landing gear design...

I was happy that I was in the minority of pilots regarding my opinion in the club days as that meant the 172's where more readily available.

So Tony, is that a or a

I just can't quite figure it out.

Jg

Rob

If you’d have gone with Air Plains IO-550 conversion your C182 might have been 160+ kts TAS

:-)

I can vouch for this. We repaired a 182Q two years ago that had the Air Plains IO-550 conversion. Awesome performance