FlyZone Cessna® 182 Skylane™ Select RTF
FlyZone Cessna® 182 Skylane™ Select RTF
Introduction
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| <b>Wingspan:</b> | 47.5” |
| <b>Wing Area:</b> | ~339 sq” |
| <b>Wing type:</b> | AeroCell foam - Semi-symmetrical |
| <b>AUW weight:</b> | Advertised – 37oz Actual - 37oz |
| <b>Wing Loading:</b> | 15.7oz/sq ft |
| <b>Length:</b> | 39” |
| <b>Servos:</b> | 4 Micro Included |
| <b>Transmitter:</b> | Tactic 5 Channel 72MHz included |
| <b>Receiver:</b> | Tactic 6ch 72MHz with crystal |
| <b>Battery:</b> | Flyzone 1800 mAh 3s LiPoly included |
| <b>Motor:</b> | Brushless included |
| <b>ESC:</b> | 18AMP brushless ESC included |
| <b>Manufacturer:</b> | <a href=http://www.flyzoneplanes.com/airplanes/hcaa42-cessna182/index.html>FlyZone</a> |
| <b>Manufacturer:</b> | Your local hobby store |
| <b>ARF Price:</b> | $249.99 |
FlyZone has released an impressive ready to fly Cessna 182. I have always been fond of general aviation aircraft, and the Cessna 182 Skylane is a flagship in the light aircraft market. I suspect most of us have even had a ride in one at one time or another.
The FlyZone Cessna 182 is a RTF - ready to fly - model. It includes <i>everything</i> needed to get you in the air very quickly. It is made from AeroCell foam that is <b>very</b> durable, flexible and easy to repair.
The shipment arrived double boxed and safe and sound from FlyZone. It comes in a remarkably small box considering it has the nearly assembled plane and radio system including transmitter, charger battery and wing inside. In true RTF fashion, this model was ready to go in less time than it took to charge the battery! In fact, it took me less than 40 minutes - impressive.
Kit Contents
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The colorful box contains a sharp looking Select Scale(tm) model.
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I could not believe they packed this entire RTF system in the small box! Everything was covered with bubble wrap to insure the foam was well protected.
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Parts count is low, so a few minutes of assembly has you in the air.
RTF Kit includes:
- Fuselage
- Wing and tail surfaces
- Battery hatch, quick battery access
- Factory hinged flight surfaces - including functional flaps!
- Light system - all factory installed!
- Hardware (Push rods, horns, EZ type connectors, tires and steerable nose wheel assembly)
- Landing gear with wheel pants
- Spring loaded steerable nose wheel
- 5 Channel Tactic Transmitter (72MHz)
- 6 Channel Tactic RX
- 3 Cell balancing charger with 110v 1amp AC and 12v lighter plug power supplies (800 mAh fixed charge rate)
- Authentic Cessna markings factory installed
- Picture assembly guide and text instructions
Kit requires:
- 8 - Dry AA cells for Transmitter
Assembly
The FlyZone Cessna 182 requires a few very simple assembly steps to have it ready to fly.
The builder needs to:
- Install the tail surfaces - no glue needed
- Attach the main landing gear
- Attach the wing to the fuselage
- Plug in the pre-wired lighting system
- Check all the control systems
Fuselage
The fuselage is large and easy to work with. Two screws had the main landing gear installed.
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Two pre-drilled help get the main gear on in seconds.
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A very nice foam insert has double sided tape and covers the screw holes nicely. It looks great!
The tail feathers attach with a plastic post and retention clip. The post, installed on the vertical stabilizer slides through the horizontal stabilizer and is retained with the clip.
The push rod tubes are factory installed so you simply run the wires in the tubes and route the rudder lighting system wire in the factory installed guide tube. I appreciated that everything was aligned properly right down to the push rod tubes that perfectly connected both the control horns and servo connectors.
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Install the push rods in the factory tubes.
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The tail has the pre-installed light, and the wiring for that must be routed to the lighting module in the fuselage.
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Internal horns are factory installed on the rudder and elevator. Use the "Z" bends, and connect the push rods on those. Then the tail surfaces slide easily into position.
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A clip on the underside locks the rudder post and horizontal stab and rudder into place. Simple and easy!
Wing
The wing is one unit and ready to go from the box. Both the flap and aileron servos are installed and connected; There’s nothing to do but attach the wing to the fuselage, connect the aileron and flap servo wires to the receiver and attach the lighting system connector to the wiring module.
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There were two covers hiding the wing retention bolts.
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Plastic wing retainers key into these slots and on a factory installed plate in the fuselage.
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Simply connect the aileron and flap servos, then the light system wires from the wing.
Installation of the struts was simple with just 4 screws in the factory strut mount points. Alignment was spot on, and no adjustments were needed.
Included are some antennas that mount in the wing for a scale appearance. Nice touch!
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Scale details really help the looks of the model.
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You can also see two of the NAV lights in the wing top here as well.
The Flyzone Cessna 182 includes a lighting system. This complete system includes a lighting module that receives power from the the receiver. The rudder has a flashing red light, the wing has NAV lights green and red in the wing and landing lights in the leading edge of the wing.
Curiously, it also has two red lights on the wing top right near where the "red" gas caps are on the full scale. As the full scale does not have these lights - I suspect that may be a little creative license. The lights show up well, especially the bright white landing lights. The are always on and really add a dimension of realism to the FlyZone Cessna 182.
Power system
The FlyZone CESSNA 182 is powered by the included brushless motor. Size of the motor is not indicated. It is factory installed with the ESC, so no work for you here.
Amp draws
The included outrunner motor was setup for use with 3s packs. With the stock propeller it produced the following results:
| Motor statistics | |||
| Stock Propeller | Amps | Watts | Voltage |
| ~8.5x6 | 14.5 | 167 | 11.4v |
I fly the Cessna 182 with this base power system. It has good stock sport power at 73w/lb. It is not the fastest plane in the sky, but it flies in a scale manner with the stock system.
Battery
I used the included FlyZone 1800 mAh 3s LiPoly pack. It weighs in right at 5oz. As can be seen by the power checks, it is more than able to handle the ~14amp load with ease holding at more than 11v. That certainly indicates the pack will easily take more draw if a slightly larger propeller is used.
ESC
FlyZone includes a 18amp ESC with the system. It is not accessible for a "finger" temp test but assume it is easily able to handle the 14.5amp load.
Finish
The FlyZone Cessna 182, as in the case of the large majority of full scale 182s, was left as white. The factory has installed some authentic Cessna markings. They are stick on type markings, and in a few places they needed "re" sticking. Adding to the scale looks is the Cessna trademark corrugated flaps and control surfaces, and they look great!
Charger
It was really nice to see a 3s balancing charger included with this system. It also has both an AC and DC power supply included, so you can charge attended at home or in the field. The charger has a max charge rate of 800 mA which means a depleted 1800mAh pack will take over 2 hours to charge. It would have been nice to see a bit higher max charge rate for this system.
Flying
The large FlyZone Cessna 182 has a commanding presence both on the ground and in the air. I found it to fly in a very scale like manner.
Preflight
A rainy day - but a good looking plane!
With the included 3s 1800 mAh battery pack the FlyZone Cessna balanced right on the recommended CG. I was very pleased to see this: It is all too common to have balance issues on RTF airplanes.
The Tactic 5 channel transmitter requires 8 "AA" type batteries for use. Rechargeable batteries can be used, or as in my case, dry cells (not included).
Rates were not mentioned in the manual - so I did the "TLAR" <i>That Looks About Right</i> method of checking the factory settings on controls. My eyeball test said everything was just fine. In flight, those rates were all docile but adequate. All of the control directions were also properly set from the factory.
The manual does recommend a 3/8 or 10mm total flap travel setting. Mine was set correctly from the factory and spot on the manual recommended setting. Another <b>very cool</b> feature of the Tactic 5ch flap system is that it has a built in rate reducer! The flaps deploy at a very scale slow setting. It takes about 3 seconds for them to fully extend. <b>Excellent!</b>
Takeoff and Landing
The Cessna 182 with the stock power system required about 75-100 feet of ground roll out on a hard surface to reach flying speed. That was expected at the ~75w/lb power system. Rotation takes only slight elevator input, and it rotates the plane nicely. Climb out must be done on the wing.
Landings were also very easy as this model slows well, especially with the very effective flaps engaged. They, along with the lights, really look great.
Those new to flap flying will need to learn about approach speed. You will need to control approach with power when using the flaps. It is easy to get too slow with the flaps engaged, so use power to control the descent speed. This is just what you do in the full scale 182 or any other plane for that matter!
The small wheel pants and wheels make hard surface runways for landing and ground takeoff a requirement.
Special Flight Characteristics
The Cessna 182 is responsive in flight and goes where pointed. It has what I would envision to be a scale roll rate... not that you would ever try that in the full scale ship! Some may find they want a bit more throw rate for the ailerons.
As in the full scale 182, the rudder is <b> very</b> effective and coordinated turns are just like the full scale! Use the rudder when flying this bird, and you will be happy with the results.
The model stalls very predictably for a model with a near 16oz wing loading. When pushed to a stall, the model slowed down very considerably and then dropped the nose. I noted very little wing tip drop at all.
Loops and rolls require full power and a "dive" to increase speed. Stall turns are fun with the very effective rudder! Rolls have a pronounced dutch roll effect as expected with the Cessna trademark high aspect ratio wing.
Flaps are a blast to play with and really add to the scale looks of this bird.
I snapped these pics while Doug took a turn at the sticks.
Recommended power system
The stock power system provides good sport power but do not expect a rocket ship. Plan on doing some testing with larger propellers for a touch more power.
Is this plane for a beginner?
Although not terribly difficult to fly, the FlyZone Cessna is not for a first time beginner. Even though this is a ready to fly system, it is not touted as a first time model, and I agree. It must be flown on the wing, and that is how it looks most realistic. Cessnas doing loops and rolls just looks wrong!
Flight Video
Downloads
Conclusion
The FlyZone Cessna 182 Skylane was very simple to set up. Assembly of this highly prefabricated RTF is very straightforward with no issues. I really appreciate that everything was lined up well, things fit and when assembled, the model is very sturdy. The stock charger took longer to charge the battery than the assembly!
It was nice to have everything included and a full Tactic 72MHz transmitter and receiver all ready to go from the factory. The radio was setup correct with appropriate throw rates and directions.
The included balancing charger with both an AC and DC power supplies included in the offering. While the charger is sufficient, it will take a while to charge the 1800 mAh pack as it tops out at 800 mA charge rate.
The Brushless system provides good sport power for the Cessna. Do not expect to stand this one on the nose and climb only with the propeller. It flies on the wing and in a scale manner. The flaps are a blast to play with in flight and really add the the flight realism.
The scale lighting system also looks wonderful. In dusk hours it really lights up well especially the bright landing lights. Looks just like the full scale ship on final - <b>very cool</b>!
The AeroCell foam is <b>very</b> durable, flexible and easy to fix with CA glue if you have an incident.
Once assembled, you will have a very attractive model that is well behaved in flight. In fact, the Cessna 182 flies well and in a scale manner, is complete, easy to assemble and puts a grin on my face.
Pluses:
- Less than an hour assembly time
- Full RTF setup including radio, charger, and power system
- Durable AeroCell foam
- "Slow" deploying flaps
- Lighting system
Minuses:
- It would be nice to see the 8 dry cells included
- Higher rate charger would be welcome
It is welcome to see some love for the general aviation segment of the market. The FlyZone Cessna 182 makes a great addition to the hangar. Check it out the hobby shop.
Last edited by RCG_Jason; Jan 29, 2023 at 08:49 PM..| Thread Tools |
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Hi. I heard that this plane has working lights and flaps on it. does it?
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UH, Mike mentions both in his conclusion?
I always have liked the look of a high wing Cessna on final. Something about it just looks COOL?! This model really caught my eye when it released. The lights, the flaps, the corrugations on the control surfaces. I LIKE it! 
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Latest blog entry: H&M Performance Electric 60 size ...
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Very nicely done, Mike!
I really like the looks of this plane, but what I like best is the fact that it has flaps. Just like there are aileron trainers and 3D trainers and such, this looks like a "scale" trainer, so you can get used to seeing how flaps affect flight performance. Thanks again for the flight report — and nice pics, too! 
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Now on sale for $89.27. I'm also hearing that the shipping is free for new customers (is this true?). I like the graphics on the FlyZone much better, but for the price...I wouldn't mind the pink graphics. Here is a discussion thread of this plane: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=945874 |
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I only wish this came in a "Receiver Ready" version. I hate buying a transmitter I'll never use and have it collect dust. My DX7 is all I need. It may have one more memory spot left for this Cessna 182!
Nice review Mike. I've been looking forward to reading more about it. Do you have a contact at Hobbico/FlyZone that can respond to the prospects of an RR/PNP version? -Lee |
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Thread OP
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Thanks Lee - it is a great idea.
My contacts are all in the PR/Media side... Try this site: http://www.hobbico.com/suggestion.html Mike |
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No response yet...but I'm hopeful!
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