Cessna Turbo Skylane

Cessna T182T Turbo Skylane

One of the most surprising things about flat-panel avionics systems is that the airplane and avionics makers have been able to incorporate them into existing airplanes relatively seamlessly. The Skylane, first built in the mid-1950s, is a perfect example of an airplane that successfully blends time-tested design with next-generation technologies.

Garmin's Synthetic Vision Technology does many good things for the pilot at once. It shows a depiction of the terrain ahead in an intuitive way while lighting up the terrain in yellow or red when it begins to come near the airplane.

Integrated weather, moving map navigation, engine instrumentation and nav/com frequencies are among the many menu items on the big MFD in the Skylane.

Lying beyond a series of ridges in high country, an airport like Marfa, Texas, can be a hazardous destination in low weather or at night.

The Turbo Skylane flown for this report was outfitted with the Nav II package, the G1000 integrated avionics suite with dual built-in WAAS navigators, Mode S transponder, the GFC 700 dual channel digital autopilot and digital AHRS and air data. The airplane was also outfitted with Garmin Synthetic Vision Technology displayed on the primary flight display of the G1000 system, a software upgrade expected to cost just less than $10,000 and expected to be available by the time you read this. It was also equipped with the Cessna built-in four-port oxygen system, heated prop, tinted Rosen sun visors, AmSafe seat belt airbags for all four seats, leather interior, electronic instrument flight charts, XM Weather and audio, TIS traffic, terrain advisory and electronic engine monitoring.

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