Aircraft model
CESSNA 182M
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The 1969 Skylane, the last year before Cessna raised the gross weight again. It is the familiar four-seat, 230 hp high-wing tourer: docile, capable of grass and short fields, and able to carry four adults with something less than full fuel or three with full tanks. Nothing about it is quick, and nothing about it will catch out a competent pilot.
A 1969 aeroplane is old enough that its history matters more than its specification. Corrosion, damage repairs, logbook continuity and engine provenance are what you are really buying. The 182-specific items are the firewall and nose gear, the fuel bladders and the seat rail airworthiness directive. Running costs are 13 gallons an hour plus an expensive engine reserve, which is the price of carrying four people at 143 knots. Insurance is straightforward and instruction is available anywhere; the transition from a 172 takes a few hours.
Compare with…
Put CESSNA 182M side by side with up to two other models.
- CESSNA 182M
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Continental O-470-R |
| Horsepower | 230 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1969 |
| Production end | 1969 |
| Endorsements required | high-performance |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 143 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 690 nm |
| Service ceiling | 18,900 ft |
| Climb rate | 980 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 49 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,350 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,350 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,110 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 750 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,800 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,690 lb |
| Usable fuel | 60 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 12.9 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $85,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $230,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,500 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $40,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $55,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 643 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 432 |
| Median year built | 1969.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 14 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 32.411 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 23.152 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 92 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 21.33 |
| Airworthiness directives | 9 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 432 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 432 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 432 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 7.8 of 101 |
| Severity | 8.9 of 102 |
| Access | 6.2 of 103 |
| Support | 7.3 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 6.4 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 36.6 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 32.28 · 202 models in class.
- Severity: class median 12.5.
- Access: class median 775.
- Support: class median 147.5.
- Liquidity: class median 19.9.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.