The Skylane is a Cessna (a Textron company) single-piston-engine aircraft, which has evolved over 50 years from the original 1956 180 and later 182 models. Up until 1986, when production was suspended, Cessna built 21,914 182s.

Following the passing of the General Aviation Revitalisation Act in 1994, which allowed Cessna to manufacture single-piston-engine aircraft again, Cessna began to plan for the manufacture of Skylanes, Skyhawks and Stationairs.

The new Skylane prototype flew for the first time in July 1996, with the first production model being delivered in January 1997.

In 2000, citing market demand, Cessna announced the Skylane 182T; the Turbo 182T is Cessna’s latest single engine aircraft model.

Cessna 182 models are in service with the US Civil Air Patrol as a platform for search and rescue satellite digital imaging systems and have been operated by defence forces in Argentina, Belize, Canada, Guatemala, Lesotho, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The Skylane is a four-seat aircraft and can operate with one or two pilots. The aircraft is most commonly used for personal use / light sport, small business use and as a trainer; Cessna has nearly 300 Cessna Pilot Centres (CPCs) worldwide.

The Skylane is certified to the requirements of US FAA Federal Aviation Regulation Part 23 through amendment 23-6, including day, night, VFR (Visual Flight Rules) and IFR (Instrument Flight Rules). Enhancements for the aircraft include stainless steel control cables and all-body epoxy corrosion proofing.

TURBO-CHARGED ENGINES

The Skylane 182T is powered by a Lycoming IO-540-AB1A5 single-piston engine developing 171.51kW at 2,400rpm driving a McCauley constant speed three-blade metal propeller; the Turbo 182T’s Lycoming TIO-540-AK1A engine develops 175.24 51kW at 2,400rpm and the McCauley propeller is heated.

SKYLANE FLIGHT DECK

Skylanes are available with the Garmin G1000 glass cockpit, which provides all primary flight, engine and sensor data in real time on two 26.4cm active matrix LCDs.

"More than half the general aviation aircraft flying today are Cessnas."

In November 2006, Cessna announced that Skylanes would be available with the Garmin GFC 700 Automatic Flight Control (AFCS) and Flight Director (FD) system, the Wide-Area Augmentation System (WAAS), Garmin SafeTaxiTM and Garmin FliteCharts as standard equipment; ChartView, powered by Jeppesen is optional.

CABIN

The 4.47m³ cabin is configured for four people, one to two pilots and a two-seat bench seat. The cabin is accessed via a 1.04m-high by 0.87m-wide (on average) door. The baggage area and baggage net are aft of the rear seat, and is accessed via a 0.56m-high by 0.40m-wide door.