It’s easy to see why the venerable Cessna 182 Skylane is an easy choice for a wide variety of missions. From the oldest Skylane to the current all-glass model that flirts with $500,000, a 182 has good hauling capability, good dispatch reliability and a relatively comfortable cabin, plus maintenance shops know how to work on it. That covers a lot of bases.
Except for its intolerance for mismanagement on and around the runway—giving it a not so respecful ranking in the NTSB reports—we suspect buyers are comfortable with long-term Skylane ownership. For many, it’s as far up the pecking order as they’ll go in their flying careers.