The first production example of the new Cessna 182 JT-A Turbo Skylane made its inaugural flight this week, ushering in a new era as the first modern single-engine piston airplane designed specifically to run on jet-A.

 

“The Turbo Skylane JT-A performed just as expected,” said Cessna senior test pilot Dale Bleakney. “The weather conditions were fantastic, and we took the Turbo 182 up for what turned out to be a very normal first flight. We flew for 2.3 hours, achieved a flight level of 8,000 feet, and attained a true air speed of 158 knots. We brought it in and did some takeoffs and landings, and everything went as expected.”

Read more at http://www.flyingmag.com/aircraft/pistons/cessna-182-jt-makes-first-production-flight#cTQEDC2z3gwVqKSS.99

Awesome, looks fun to fly

Cool, but this is nothing new...  My friend was the first installer in North America for this Jet A engine:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMA_SR305-230

 

When we were flying the 182 across the country, everywhere we'd stop the FBO would go wild with the notion we were fueling with Jet A.  This was back in 2008ish.

I guess because this was the first flight of a "production engine"............. :rolleyes:

Not sure... SMA thought it was going to explode as it did get amazing fuel economy. However, it didn't get the attention they thought--I think because the economy was tanked at that point of time and no one wanted to spend 75-80k to convert their 182 for fuel savings that would take years.

 

BTW, didn't mean to sound like I was calling you out or anything -- was just super shocked to see Cessna announcing this like it's something new.

$80k conversion or $515k out the door on a new one...............

Yeah, I think 515k for a new 182 is ludicrous.  If I had that type of capital to invest on an airplane, I'd be looking at a used turboprop.

 

BTW, didn't mean to sound like I was calling you out or anything -- was just super shocked to see Cessna announcing this like it's something new.

One needs to consider the rising cost of Avgas and in parts of the world, Avgas is getting to be a scarcity.

Chase: "BTW, didn't mean to sound like I was calling you out or anything -- was just super shocked to see Cessna announcing this like it's something new."

 

Not a problem and I understand your surprise when it was pushed to the press as something "new".. Their story probably should of had more background information.

 

Thanks for the Wiki link, it definitely put the article in a better perspective.

 

I would NOT spend $515 for a 182 either..........

Didn't they already do this in production with both the 172 and 182?