After moving to Flagstaff a few years ago, I am finding my Stinson 108 is not ideal for windy and high density altitude days. I am trying to decide between a 182 with an upgraded engine or an earlier 206. I will need to carry bit of a load but will rarely need a useful load over 1200 pounds or more than 4 seats. My max budget is a $150k. I need the plane mostly for work (flying legs of less than 200 miles) but do not want to give up the ability to do a bit of Backcountry flying. I’m Looking for feedback on performance differences; climb, cruise, takeoff distance etc. if both airplanes had 280 hp engines and were carrying a 1000 pounds, would the 206 airframe give up that much more performance in exchange for the ability to carry more of a load if I ever needed it and having stronger nose gear?

Az-

1. The nosegear of the 206 trumps the 182.
2. I would personally have an injected engine.
3. The whole wing on the 206 is better. More area. Huge flaps. Effective aileron.
4. When solo you will want to add some weight in the baggage of your 206 through the E models.
5. A models an up have 3600 gross.
6. 206 burns about 1 gph more than a 182 at the same speed.


We used to have a 182P. Now have a 206. Would not go back to a 182...even with a PPonk.

Tim

With a big engine 182, and “desirable” equipment, you may not get 1200 useful.

As noted by behind, the 182 nose gear is attached to the firewall. And 182s tend to be nose heavy, some more than others, of course, but tweak that nose gear, and you also bought a firewall......ouch.

206 nose gear is mounted different, to engine mount. More robust and less $$ if you tweak it, though still plenty painful.

If you need a working airplane with 1200 useful, look no further than the 206.

MTV

206 is a great plane.. but with a max budget of 150k you will be at the bottom of the price range for 206’s

Go with the 206 hands down. Take a look at the “P” model 206s and you can stay within your budget. There looks to be some real nice ones for sale.

Quickdraw1 wrote:Go with the 206 hands down. Take a look at the “P” model 206s and you can stay within your budget. There looks to be some real nice ones for sale.

X2 on this. Especially if you are hauling your family around. I really like the passenger side door on mine and have not missed the clamshell doors of the U model. If I was working it to haul freight it would be the other way around. But for my mission, and most likely yours, the P is the way to go.

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

Yeah it definitely looks like, for the price I am looking at a P model.

With the different wings has anyone had experience In which airplane ( 182 or 206 ) would land.shortest, At the same weight? Do the pre-68 model 206s with the smaller horizontal stabilizer land as short as later ones with the larger tail, if you and carry extra weight in back? ( or maybe if you put a lighter MT prop on the front?

I fly a pponk 182 and a turbo 206 on a forest service contract.

While both are great ships, I prefer flying the 206.

It feels like a significantly larger plane than the 182. The rear doors are awesome! The flaps are huge. The nose landing gear is confidence inspiring. The pilot's seat sits a little higher off of the floor, which I like.

Not sure that there is too much difference between how short the two can take off and land. Either are quite respectable STOL machines.

If I were faced with this choice, I would be shopping for a 206. Of course, the 206 is more of a working plane, so they are a little more desirable and more difficult to get in to for a good price.

mtv wrote:

And 182s tend to be nose heavy, some more than others,

MTV

Mike should have mentioned that the 1956 through 1961 are not nose heavy at all. this is due to the trimmable horizontal stabilizer. That the heaviest is the 1962 through 1964. My 1956 182 is much lighter. 1525 pounds empty with 1025 useful. Only 55 gallons of fuel on board is a downside. A 206 hs much more room in the cabin. My 182 has that very small baggage door. But I am big on Strait tail 182's.

A 206 with comparable avionics, engine hours and other cool stuff like a sportsman stoll et is probably at least 50,000 dollars more. So I ask myself would I rather have a paid for straight tail 182 or a 206 with the easy payment plan. But then if money is no object just buy a Beaver.

A Cessna 205 is about halfway between the two, in capability and price. I usually fly mine with the two back seats out, and can then bring 4 200 lb adults, full (84 gallon) tanks, and ~200 lbs of baggage. Flown light it does really well. It has most of the upside of the 206 (sturdy nosewheel, lots of room, IO470 with 260HP) with less cost, if you can find one. I looked hard at 182's, and found that when I fly my family of 4, baggage volume ended up being the limiting factor, not weight. The 205 has been perfect for us.

I was going to suggest considering a 205 as well. It's a pretty good airplane for what you seem to want.

The biggest downside of a 182 is the somewhat fragile nose gear. That heavy engine out front makes nose gear landings relatively common, especially if too much airspeed is carried into the landing. Just a little crow-hopping can create thousands of dollars of damage, not only to the firewall but also to the tunnel behind it. Keeping the airspeed to 1.3 Vso or less can make a huge difference.

I suggest that you should fly the airplanes you're considering. The difference in feel is pretty dramatic, compared to what you're accustomed to.

A piece of advice I've always given, though: buy the airplane that fits your actual mission 90% of the time (or some other high percentage--90% is my target). The vast majority of GA airplanes aren't flown full, but actually with only the pilot or the pilot and one passenger. For the other 10% of the time, consider renting one that fits. That's why I'm super happy with my 63 P172D, my steed for the past almost 16 years. It fits my mission most of the time--me and dog, or me and dog and camping equipment is the norm. When I had a family when the kids were young, the 182 fit the bill most of the time, as we did a lot of family traveling. So analyze your actual mission most of the time, and go from there.

Cary

You should visit with DOGPILOT. He may have some good input for you. He's at KFLG also.

A 205 might work, but grunting 1200 pounds out of Flagstaff on a "normal" day might be a little too much to ask of a 260 hp airplane. But, maybe, assuming it's kept light. Or bigger engine.

MTV