One of my students just bought a Cessna 182. I have plenty of time in 150/152/172, and some 185 time (and several hundred hours in a Bonanza). None (yet) in the 182.

My student is almost ready to solo, and I plan to keep him flying in my 150 until he does, to avoid the inevitable delay caused by transitioning and learning the new airplane. Then we'll switch mounts before he starts on cross countries.

But when he is ready - what do I need to know about the 182? Any advice/tips? Gotchas? Things to focus on?

I'm not well versed in the 182 but have always heard they are prone to nose wheel/firewall damage. I would imagine that a lot of nose up trim on landing wouldn't hurt.

Paul, I had a Skylane before my Bonanza. The only thing I could say for someone new is that it is nose heavy on landings. Tell your student to use a lot of trim up on landings and hold it OFF.
Inspect the firewall real good before purchasing one...I still miss my Skylane . Great plane..
All the best,
BQ

Bob nailed it, nose heavy on landings, trim will be his friend. I did my training in a 172 and flew the school's 182 quite a bit too, going back and forth all I had to remember was the prop and trim on landing. Easy planes to fly.

If it's a straight-leg 182 and has an O-470 Continental, be careful of carb-ice. Flying in IMC seems to be the biggest culprit. It is very easy to have the engine get real quiet if you don't get on the carb heat right away. Better yet, use partial carb heat in IMC conditions.

182 is a good airplane. Big step up from the 172. Easy to fly and carries a lot of weight. As already mention, you have to learn to use the trim wheel. As you reduce power in the pattern the nose sinks. The flaps are big, and the last notch will bring the aircraft down pretty fast unless you leave some power in until over the numbers. It burns a lot of fuel especially doing touch and goes. And also mentioned, you have to hold that nose up as it sinks to touchdown point.

These guys are spot on about the perceived weight of the nose on landings. It's significantly different from the smaller cessnas. I always told my guys to get it over the runway then NEVER stop pulling in the flare. They'll usually squeak it on just above stall speed on the mains only. This assumes they fully understand the concepts associated with stalls and can judge their height above the runway fairly accurately. If you land flat, you didn't pull long enough and still had airspeed left to give.

Like the guys said, it's a great airplane. I've enjoyed every one I've ever flown.

http://www.amazon.com/Skylane-Pilots-Co ... ag=btalk-20

Out of print book that is highly regarded for 182 flying tips. It's sort of an odd format - almost novel like with piloting hints woven into stories. I wasn't a big fan, but it has a major following.

And agree - nose heavy, carb ice.

Minor other items

- You can sometimes get slightly higher MP about 1/8" shy of full throttle. There's supposition that geometric open throttle may not be optimum volumetric open throttle.
- Some 182s will run LOP and partial carb heat can help better vaporize all the fuel for more even F/A distribution.

go to the AOPA web site they have an outstanding 182 guide that does a very good job of outlining the things to look out for.

With only two in front keep the flaps at 20 or less on landing. This will help reduce the pull needed to hold the nose off. With full flaps it can be a handfull at low speed.

Join us at cessna-pilots.net it's a free forum with many 182 owners/pilots and instructors who will be glad to offer any help they can. Also Cessna owners/pilots/ and just folks that like Cessnas for the 150 up to and including the twins.

One minor detail. The wings are a few inches higher than the 172—so watch your forehead when walking around the plane.

Cessna.org is another excellent resource - not what it once was, but still probably a good $60 spent for a new owner.

What year is the Skylane?

Nose heaviness is much more pronounced with earlier than later 182s. My '64 G has about 10 inches less horizontal stabilizer than my hangar mate's '77 and you sure feel it (can't remember the year they changed it). When solo or with two aboard in the front seats, I usually roll full nose up trim prior to turning final. I use full flaps on almost every landing - never an issue in any wind.

Another factor contributing to early Skylane firewall damage is a longer "throw" to the nose strut when fully extended. They changed that on later models.

Partial carb heat (to a CAT of 40-50 F) greatly improves fuel distribution to the cylinders. LOP is sometimes possible; cruise at peak EGT at 8-10K MSL is pretty easy and CHTs stay cool. Have a CAT gauge aboard before trying it though.

Left-right fuel imbalance is something Cessna didn't get fully corrected through the production run (pre-1997 - not sure about the later ones). Don't be surprised if one tank goes dry with the other still half full on the gauge. It may indicate a rigging issue, or may be normal for that airframe.

Other than that, it's just a big, fat, slightly faster, more stable and greatly superior version of the 172, systems-wise and handling-wise.

I'll try to find some specifics to flesh out the above if you'd like.

+1 on it being a great plane but a bit nose heavy. The one I used to fly a lot always had a strange low tone whistle when in the soup. Never did figure that one out.

That's the resident ghost. All of them were issued one on delivery.

+1 on CPS and CPA. Great resources.

What kind of speeds does the 182 get? On what fuel burn?