WICHITA, Kan. - The first production flight of a Cessna Turbo Skylane 182 JT-A has taken place at the company's facility in Independence, Kansas. The aircraft is the first modern single-engine aircraft powered by a piston engine specifically designed to run on Jet-A fuel.
Cessna says the aircraft is the first aircraft powered by a diesel engine specifically designed for aviation. Industry observers have noted a looming fuel issue for general aviation in most parts of the world. Avgas is typically used to fuel most single-engine aircraft, but the fuel is becoming scarce, expensive, and even unavailable in many parts of the world. With the advent of a single-engine craft designed to run on the much more common Jet-A fuel, operators can now access many more parts of the world without worrying about the unpredictable availability and price of increasingly scarce avgas.
The Safran-made SMA engine in the Turbo Skylane JT-A is engineered specifically for aviation. It uses only 11 gallons per hour of the typically lower-cost Jet-A fuel at the estimated maximum cruise speed of 156 knots. The 227-horsepower engine will offer customers increased range or payload capacity without sacrificing performance, according to Cessna. Flight at the maximum cruise speed demonstrates greater fuel efficiency, and it is expected to burn approximately 30 percent to 40 percent less fuel than comparable avgas engines, the company added. Fuel capacity is 87 useful gallons (329 l), with an estimated useful load of 1,018 pounds (462 kg).
