The Cessna 182 is a classic, as relevant in the 1950’s as it is today. Our Cessna 182 is a highly modified 1956 Cessna 182 straight tail with STOL kit, Alaska bush wheels, the ultimate go-anywhere “tundra trike”. We often refer to it as the 182 Rubicon Edition.
BACKCOUNTRY TRAINING IN A TRICYCLE GEAR AIRCRAFT?
You bet! In fact, our independent testing of take-off performance comparing our Cessna 182 to same year and configuration Cessna 180 shows the trike has a slightly shorter take-off distance and similar landing distance. With extremely rough fields the 180 was the clear winner, however for the purposes of training and teaching basic backcountry technique we believe the 182 is a superior platform since it allows the student to learn the concepts of backcountry flying independent from the intimidation and concepts and additional learning related specifically to tail-wheel operations.
Of course, that’s not to say our 182 is stock configuration. A number of modifications had been made to make this aircraft ideal for backcountry training, including: 4 Point BAS Safety Systems Seat Belts, Airglas Front Fork, 850×10 main gear tires, 850×6 nose gear tire, Horton STOL kit, lightweight interior, reinforced firewall, and of course ADS-B in and out so you can connect your iPad and get weather and traffic.