Cessna Turbo Skylane 182 JT-A aircraft

Cessna Aircraft, a Textron company, has completed the first production flight of its single-engine Turbo Skylane 182 JT-A at its facility in Independence, Kansas, US.

The aircraft is the first single engine aircraft powered by a piston engine specifically designed to run on Jet-A fuel.

Cessna senior test pilot Dale Bleakney said that the company flew the aircraft for 2.3 hours, attained a flight level of 8,000ft and a true air speed of 158k.

"The Turbo Skylane JT-A performed just as expected," Bleakney said.

Cessna single engine/propeller aircraft senior vice-president Jodi Noah added: "The Turbo Skylane JT-A is evidence that Cessna is committed to delivering the groundbreaking fuel solution that general aviation customers have been seeking for a long time."

The Turbo Skylane JT-A is powered by Safran’s SMA engine, which is designed specifically for aviation and can accommodate four people.

The 227 horsepower engine uses 11 gallons per hour of lower-cost Jet-A fuel at the estimated maximum cruise speed of 156k, and will offer customers increased range or payload capacity.

It is expected to burn approximately 30% to 40% less fuel compared with avgas engines.

"The Turbo Skylane JT-A is evidence that Cessna is committed to delivering the groundbreaking fuel solution that general aviation customers have been seeking for a long time."

Cessna Aircraft noted that Avgas, which is typically used to fuel most single engine aircraft, is becoming scarce, expensive, and even unavailable in many parts of the world.

The new single engine craft designed to run on the much more common Jet-A fuel can allow operators to access many more parts of the world without worrying about the unpredictable availability and price of increasingly scarce avgas, the company said.

Turbo Skylane JT-A features a Garmin G1000 avionics suite, which offers high levels of situational awareness to the cockpit, as well as primary and multi-function flight displays for engine diagnostics

The aircraft has a fuel capacity of 329l and can fly at max cruise speed of 1,025nm.

Established in 1927, is a general aviation company and has till date designed, produced and delivered about 200,000 aeroplanes worldwide.

Image: During the first production flight, the Cessna Turbo Skylane 182 JT-A flew for 2.3 hours, attained a flight level of 8,000ft and a air speed of 158k. Photo: courtesy of Textron Inc.

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