A Cessna 182 powered by a 230-horsepower Jet-A-burning piston engine will be available in the second quarter of 2013, Cessna Aircraft announced July 23.
The thinly masked Turbo 182 NXT on display at the Cessna exhibit at EAA AirVenture drew widespread attention even before the official start of the show and unveiling. Cessna’s Jeff Umscheid said the aircraft is a response to customer demand.
“This is what the market has been begging for,” he said, calling the aircraft a game changer. Powered by a turbocharged, direct-drive SMA SR305-230E-C1 engine, the Turbo 182 NXT will burn 11 gph at a max cruise speed of 155 knots, Umscheid said, granting owners a lower fuel burn and increased range from avgas counterparts. Cessna estimates that the engine will burn 30 to 40 percent less fuel than comparable avgas engines and have a range of 1,160 nautical miles at max cruise speed. Umscheid said the company has leveraged Lycoming field support for the engine.
When the $515,000 airplane is available in the second quarter of 2013, it will replace the avgas-burning turbo 182. An avgas-burning Turbo 182 NXT is currently listed at $443,500. Cessna said the Jet-A-burning version will be simple to fly, with no mixture control and a constant-speed propeller, and create less noise pollution because of the diesel technology and lower-speed propeller.
Also at the Cessna tent this year, pilots can check out a mockup of a potential single-engine turboprop and offer feedback on the aircraft.
