I'm a old new pilot. I just completed my PPL at 55 last year. So far I have only flown Cessna 172 and 182 as PIC. I am looking into plane purchase for a dual role. I have a job that pays for some of my flying but would like to still be able to fly into a few of my friends ranches. I know all of the hard core backcountry stuff is different but for what I am looking at does anyone see a problem with a good duel role 182?

I don't think there is a better all around plane than a 182. It will do almost everything anyone ever needs. You can take it 99% of the places anyone but a very few will go. great airplane.

daedaluscan wrote:I don't think there is a better all around plane than a 182. It will do almost everything anyone ever needs. You can take it 99% of the places anyone but a very few will go. great airplane.

I agree completely. I ended up with a 182 while I was shopping for a 180/185 after talking to an insurance agent. Without a lot of TW time, only one insurance company would even quote me in a Skywagon. And that was a few years ago, before the insurance market turned on us. I understand that the magic numbers that insurance companies are looking for in a Skywagon are 250 hrs TW/50 hrs type.

Good luck shopping. You'll love a good 182.

Ross

There are a lot of things you can do to a 182 that make it very capable on unimproved surfaces, some more expensive than others. If money isn't a problem, you can always go with something like a Peterson conversion. If money is tight, just practice. Building your skills is the most important thing, anyway.

HAHAHA I wish money was no object!! I grew up racing cars and this airplane thing is about the same it appears. More you spend the faster you go!! I just have looked at a lot of planes over the last year and have a hard time finding anything that seems to beat the overall ability and price of the 182. Because of my work I will take some longer trips to events from the Austin Tx area where I am based. The 182 still seems to have enough cruise speed combined with useful load to make it a good cross country for someone of my current abilities and still would let me go to my buddies ranch in West Texas and North Texas. I would eventually like to get tailwheel endorsement but I want to wait until I have some more time and am a better pilot.

I think you've answered your own question, and frankly, pretty accurately. 182 is hard to beat. Unless you have a 206, of course.

MTV

mtv wrote:I think you've answered your own question, and frankly, pretty accurately. 182 is hard to beat. Unless you have a 206, of course.

MTV

Oh great now you've done it MTV now the poor guy will have to consider a 206 in the mix

Right. Just as I thought I had made up my mind somebody throws out more for research!!

Welcome. Good choice of airplane. Watch some of motoadve's videos on the Forum here to see capability of getting into friends ranch type mission. Email me at [email protected] for some free e-books on techniques.

Before I inherited the family 182 I was looking hard at PA-22s and 172s. Both of those are more affordable options but I feel like I would eventually be running them at the max end of their capabilities with a family of four. Someone else there said it, "it's easier to run a heavy airplane light than a light airplane heavy."

As a 185 owner and former 180 owner you are in the perfect plane. The 182 will take you anyplace you want to go within reason. The 206 will take you and your friends to the same places at an additional cost.

Stick with the 182 and fly the crap out of it. Good on you getting your PPL at 55. Well done and welcome to the site.

MW

Thank you. I received my PPL last July after starting at the end of Jan last year. I am now working on my IFR trying to finish that at 56. Wanted to do this since I was 13 years old. Not wasting time now!!

You are getting good advice , if its landing on strips a 182 is what you want, in stock form they are pretty good, modified can do a lot more, even off airport (with its limitation of the nose gear).

Not to spoil all the 182-love that's being bandied about, and at the risk of sounding like a snob... there is nothing like flying a TW bird. When I fly a nose wheel, I just feel like all that I'm doing is practicing for the next time I go fly a nose wheel bird... When I fly a TW bird, I feel like I'm actually "flying."

As mentioned above, the 182 is a great solid flying bird. But like a Honda civic, when it comes down to it, its just a Civic... bland.

my .02

All that said, congrats on your PPL. No better day than when you get to go up there alone.

The real answer is that whatever you can afford is the right bird... My advice is to try to just stretch a little bit out of your comfort or wallet zone. Whatever you get, you want to make sure you can land, sit down in a chair, open a beer, and just stare with googly eyes at the machine... FWIW, over the years I have found that one can sit for much longer periods of time staring at the TW bird over the nose wheel bird, which is what makes it much bettererer.

Good luck, and congrats on the PPL!

As Bigrenna said and getting back to the thread title I lean heavily towards a TW, more so if its a round tail variant

Bigrenna wrote:Not to spoil all the 182-love that's being bandied about, and at the risk of sounding like a snob... there is nothing like flying a TW bird. When I fly a nose wheel, I just feel like all that I'm doing is practicing for the next time I go fly a nose wheel bird... When I fly a TW bird, I feel like I'm actually "flying."

As mentioned above, the 182 is a great solid flying bird. But like a Honda civic, when it comes down to it, its just a Civic... bland.

my .02

All that said, congrats on your PPL. No better day than when you get to go up there alone.

The real answer is that whatever you can afford is the right bird... My advice is to try to just stretch a little bit out of your comfort or wallet zone. Whatever you get, you want to make sure you can land, sit down in a chair, open a beer, and just stare with googly eyes at the machine... FWIW, over the years I have found that one can sit for much longer periods of time staring at the TW bird over the nose wheel bird, which is what makes it much bettererer.
Good luck, and congrats on the PPL!

Never too late to upgrade your 180 LOL

I call photo shopped, that nose wheel is a prop strike just wait to happen

Bigrenna is right about staring at TW machines. They just look right. As far as flying them goes, I think the fun of it all depends on how you were taught to fly. If your instructor taught you to fly every airplane as if it had a tailwheel and if it has become habit, then the only difference you'll notice is having less gear to drag through the air and worry about on landing.

If you want a more capable Skylane, I did notice that there are at least two Peterson conversion 182's for sale on Controller, with a price not far above the other 182's. They are all way outside of my price range, though.

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I've had my 172 for 34 years and have flown it all over the country. Great airplane for 1-2 person use. Not terribly fast but sure cheap to own and fly.

Looked at many 180/182's over the years. Never upgraded but that might change this year. I also like the looks of a TW and prefer them if I need to sit and stare at my plane.

Mainly looking at 180's now. Can I afford to own and maintain one? I'm trying to figure that out currently. Even with a few hundred hours of TW and Float time, insurance is a lot higher in the TW than a trike. Nearly 2-3 times higher from what I am getting quoted. Having owned both (TW & Trike), I would high suggest looking at insurance before ever venturing further on a 180. Your idea of getting a 182 is pretty spot on for a low time pilot. JH2C

Good point Quis. If we teach dynamically and proactively taking the slack out of the cables or push pull tubes to nose gear during taxi, takeoff, landing and to wag the tail just a bit on final, there is really no difference. And to keep the target between our toes. Slow ground loop to align the sideloader and be pointed the right way for takeoff, maybe the only difference.

The design of the airplane is to fly. Roll on the ground, not so much.