Like other Cessna piston-engined aircraft, the parts commonality between models and ease of maintenance have made it a very comfortable plane to own.
Most shops in the world stock replacement parts for the Cessna , and mechanics are deeply familiar with them, making maintenance a breeze by most standards. Already in the early s, the Skylane was beginning to grow both as a commercial success and in weight. Faced with increasing gross weights but wanting to keep performance within the same bracket without major powerplant changes, engineers at Cessna decided to introduce a lighter aluminum alloy on areas that do not bear loads.
A problem common to both the and its Skywagon predecessor is the visibility over the nose: the large instrument panel can make it a little lacking during landing for pilots without generous stature.
Visibility over the sides is also slightly short of ideal, with those in the two front seats needing to lean down to get a good look outside. If the crew has to cut a flight short with a full tank of fuel and two large people alone in the front seats, there is a risk that elevator authority will not be sufficient during landing.
This compounded with a relatively heavy nose that requires finer and more constant trimming changes than other aircraft in its class. Officially, this was addressed with the introduction of a lbs landing weight limit, but emergencies are usually not very flexible about when they happen, so it is advised to keep weights below that number unless the mission forbids it.
Though they have become increasingly rare, some older aircraft in the Cessna market still have vices that were rectified in later models. While these work well on a good day, they have developed a bad reputation in terms of reliability in Cessna aircraft, particularly due to overheating issues. Another holdover common to early Cessnas is the use of rubber bladder fuel tanks, which may lead to fuel getting trapped by wrinkles and starving the engine.
The FAA has issued an airworthiness directive AD mandating more fuel drains on each tank, but the bill is expensive for aircraft that have not had this work done already.
A noteworthy achievement for the Cessna family is its resale value. Despite being in ongoing production and lacking the specialization some of its other Cessna cousins boast, prices for the Skylane have been on a near-constant rise over the years, and the type is known for having one of the shortest time to sell in the market.
Between and , the asking price for plenty of Cessna units in the market grew twofold, and despite this increase, they quickly found themselves in the hands of new owners. The jump in the T-series is because these can be steam gauge aircraft with the standard IO engine and fixed gear or glass cockpit rides with retractable landing gear and turbocharged engines. It does not have the crazy performance of the Cessna It cannot do bush flying as well as the Cessna , it is not as cheap as the Cessna , and it cannot do aerobatics like certain Cessna models.
What the does do well, though, is deliver perfectly adequate yet ordinary performance every time. This jack-of-all-trades excels not by being a world-beater but by having next to no shortcomings for its class.
Hardly a bragging point by most standards, a large reason why owners love their Skylane is because it can actually live up to its four-seater reputation in most conditions. The Cessna can comfortably fly with all four souls aboard and a full tank of fuel without any noteworthy performance penalties.
Most pilots hold the belief that any place they fly off from is good enough to return, and in tighter situations, this has led to many unpleasant surprises. Virtually all of us will want something from the government at some point in our lives. A building variance, a zoning change, a pothole filled, maybe even a commitment to keep a local airport open. When it's time to take your concern to an elected official, who do you think they will listen to more carefully?
Those who only complain, or those who participate in the process and offer solutions? At some point in our lives, most of us probably have the chance to do something remarkable. Of course, decisions will have to be made. Sacrifices may be required. Primary training may make us queasy. Instrument training may give us a headache.
The stock market may rise or fall. But if we persevere, like the woodpecker and the cat, we may very well get what we want. There is an almost universally accepted belief that our world is over-developed. Steel and glass and concrete surround us everywhere we go. Cramped and confined to areas with heavy traffic, ceaseless noise, and crowds of strangers.
Asphalt pathways lead us deeper into the chasm of our communities, yet make it nearly impossible for us to find our way out. Absolute rubbish. If perception is reality, then a realignment of our perceptions is in order.
How do N-Numbers get assigned? Why are they so wildly different? Who has N-1? And what about other countries? While pilots have to report getting caught driving under the influence, what about other alcohol-related troubles? And why does the FAA care about our drinking behavior? Our intrepid columnist investigates this colorful query. By buying carefully, adding his own labors, and selling to someone glad to have a fully-finished experimental airplane, Wes has been able to keep his cost of acquisition surprisingly low.
Magnus Aircraft's Fusion LSA, which the company claims has "superb aerobatic capabilities," is being touted as a great way to teach pilots upset recovery training. GA pilots should have no problem flying the aircraft, which falls under the Part regulations, company officials claim. When general aviation advocates pushed back against proposed changes to the light-sport aircraft rules — calling many of the FAA's ideas "overly complex" — a stunning thing occurred: The FAA agreed.
Many of those proposals, including Light Personal Aircraft, the Power Index, and a hp cap are now history. First versions may be simple auditory alerts in your headset. This is where the family feud analogy comes full circle in my mind. In the roughly 25 years that the GA community has been trying to find an unleaded alternative to LL avgas, GAMI's new unleaded fuel is the first promising step in the right direction.
Is it OK to use 1 diesel in your engine if Jet A is not available? Technically yes, but there are some gremlins you need to be aware of. This is one of those questions that doesn't have a perfect answer, but don't make the mistake of thinking your aircraft engine is like your car's engine. Time was quickly ticking down to my day with the examiner for my private pilot check ride.
I had mastered the steep turns, the frightening stalls and high performance landings and takeoffs. I felt confident that my PPL private pilot license would be in hand soon, so I began the next step. I started to research buying an airplane. After all, the whole point of learning to fly was to be able to travel and explore on my own terms.
Although lots of people tried to convince me that renting would be a good option and less expensive, I decided against that for a number of reasons. I wanted the freedom to travel where I wanted, when I wanted, and for however long I wanted to. I looked forward to feeling the pride of ownership. I also felt that I would fly more if I owned an aircraft and that becoming very familiar with that aircraft would make me a safer pilot.
All of my training had been done in a Cessna I had also flown a Piper Archer and a Cessna once. I looked at the huge variety of planes in the classified section of General Aviation News and picking just one seemed like a daunting task. The answer from everyone was basically the same.
Define your mission, define your budget and then choose the airplane that meets the criteria. As to my mission, I wanted a plane that could easily carry three people, luggage and four hours of fuel. Insurance premiums are higher for new pilots flying an aircraft with retractable gear.
I wanted to avoid that cost, but still have an aircraft with decent speed. Unfortunately for the airlines, his less-than-first-class-medical-qualifying eyesight would keep that from happening.
While my friend was building time toward his commercial, I got a lot of right-seat time in a We flew all over the Carolinas and Georgia. Maybe God knew I would be a terrible pilot and was protecting me from myself. Our family loves to spend our vacations out there. His diligence finally paid off, and he started his training. I knew that when I got my private [certificate], I wanted to immediately start working toward my instrument rating.
To do that, I needed to own my own airplane. Like so many of us, the familiarity he had developed during his flight training made the type his preferred choice.
Flight schools really want them. Aside from the lack of available stock, the other negative on the was the lack of useful load. Steve wanted an airplane that could carry his family and a bit of luggage for family trips. He also looked at the fixed-gear Cessna B. His search ultimately led to the venerable—and honestly, very hard to beat—Cessna Skylane.
It was nothing to fear, but you have to pay attention to it and be properly trained. Once his mind was made up on the type, it came time for the daunting task of finding the right out of all the candidates. Like everyone before him, Steve started his search by searching the pages of Trade-A-Plane, Controller, Barnstormers—all the popular places.
The problem was they all seemed to have the same airplanes advertised. That also yielded an airplane with more surface imperfections, which ended the days of polished metal airplanes. Full paint jobs became standard, to hide the dimples. The new airplanes were only 10 pounds heavier than the old ones but performance actually suffered, with reduced climb, takeoff performance and service ceiling.
The F sported a thicker, one-piece windshield and back window, a standard T-panel and an increase in horizontal stabilizer span of 10 inches. Flap pre-select also became standard. From the F model forward, until the S arrived in , changes were less dramatic.
The G model had an available kiddie seat for the baggage bay, while the H got an alternator to replace the generator. The next significant upgrade was with the N model. Gross weight was increased to pounds and the spring-steel gear was swapped for tapered tubular steel legs that allowed more fore-and-aft movement. Track was widened again, to In , a leading-edge cuff was added to the wing to improve low-speed handling, resulting in the P, a variant that stayed in production through The dorsal fin was extended and the cowling was shock mounted.
In , the R got another gross weight boost to pounds and an increase in standard fuel capacity, to 88 gallons, stored in wet wings. The bladders, which had been a problem, were dropped in Cessna also switched over to a volt electrical system. Production ended in with the R. In , when Cessna reentered the market, it introduced a newly retooled Skylane for the next century. The changes were substantial, some cosmetic, some not.
But the change improved one thing. The Os were quite susceptible to carb icing and the injected Lycoming solved that. But like the O, the Lycoming is a bit of a fuel hog. Also, the Continental is a smoother-running engine, in our view. Cosmetically, Cessna did away with the old Royalite instrument panels, replacing them with painted metal. The interior—seats and cabin panels—is much improved, as is the instrumentation.
Interior surfaces are now treated with epoxy-based anti-corrosion materials. The latest also has sealed wet wings, not bladders, making us wonder if owners will encounter leaks as the sealants age, as happens to Mooney owners. To get water out of the system, the airplane has no fewer than 12 separate drains, five on each wing tank and two at the bottom of the cowling. Although gross weight of the airplane is pounds, its typical empty weight is substantially higher than earlier models so it carries less than, say, an early s RII.
Speedwise, the normally aspirated model is respectable, cruising at just under knots on 16 to 17 GPH. One reader told us the turbo is capable of the mids knots in the teens.
Maintenance wise, the S has proved the target of a number of Cessna service bulletins, with most of the work being covered under warranty.
The BendixKing avionics in the new Skylane and , too turned out to be hugely problematic. Worth noting is this engine has operated pretty well under European approval. For equivalent capability, buyers may or may not favor Cessnas over Pipers. Which Skylane model? That depends on your budget.
As noted, the latest models have started their depreciation slide and are looking to be better values than ever. These are well-equipped airplanes and are quieter and more comfortable than the earlier Skylanes. But caveat emptor.
You might have to invest in modern avionics, or ones to your liking. Flogged to the limit, these are knot airplanes, but more like knots burning about 12 GPH.
Range varies with year and tankage, of course, but typically, you can easily fly still-air miles in the gallon versions. Skylanes are prized for short and rough field ops and deservedly so. Longtime reader David T. The prop is well clear of the ground and the gear is high enough to keep antennas out of the muck.
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