FROZEN IN TIME: Perfectly preserved vintage Cessna has found a new home
February 11, 2016
Posted by Barrett-Jackson
This perfectly preserved vintage 1958 Cessna 182A Skylane (Lot #1298) was offered at the 2016 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction.
In the collector car world, many yearn for that perfect “barn find.” Well, in the case of this 1958 Cessna 182A Skylane (Lot #1298), it was a “hangar find.”
A Wyoming businessman purchased the Cessna new from the factory in Billings, Montana, on his 41st birthday in 1958, used it only sparingly for business trips and vacations before storing it away in a hangar when business demands and arthritis kept him from flying it any more. Nevertheless, the single-engine plane was treated with TLC during its time in storage, and when the current owner heard it was for sale, his interest was piqued.
What he found was a treasure. With just over 200 airframe hours on its dial – the equivalent to about 400-600 miles on a car – the vintage aircraft was literally like new, right down to that new car (or in this case, new plane) smell when the door was opened. The paint was flawless, the upholstery was pristine and the O-470-liter 230hp engine was corrosion-free.
While a fan of all vintage modes of transportation, the plane’s new owner was tempted to keep it, but does not have a pilot’s license. “I just don’t want to go through the brain damage of getting one,” he confessed. “I decided not to take on the learning, keeping and maintaining a license and ownership of an airplane. It’s just too late in life for me.”
After a thorough going-over by a skilled aircraft mechanic, the rubber components – cylinder gaskets and induction hoses, the alternator belt and tire – were replaced, a few small missing pieces were reinstated, and a Concorde sealed battery was installed to eliminate the potential of future corrosion in the battery area.
The four-seater retro wonder was signed off as airworthy in May 2015 by the mechanic, who took the plane in the air that month for the first time in more than 30 years. The 25-foot, 2-inch plane has a wingspan of 36 feet and will do a top speed (sea level) of 144 knots, with a cruising speed (75-percent power, 5,000 feet) of 139 knots. The mechanic believes it to be the lowest-time 1958 Cessna 182 in existence.
The plane comes with two cases containing the original logbooks, owner’s manuals, the weight and balance numbers, and much other paperwork – including first-day documents. There’s even a receipt from when the plane flew to Canada for the Calgary Stampede in 1958, showing the fuel cost was a mere 35 cents a gallon (compared to about $7 per gallon today).
The vintage Cessna one other flight – this time to Scottsdale, in preparation for its appearance at the 45th Anniversary Barrett-Jackson Auction in January.
The original owner, now residing in an assisted living facility in Wyoming, was thrilled to know piece of Cessna Aircraft history will now be back in the air at the hands of its new owner. “It should be flown,” he told a reporter from the Casper Journal. “It’s an excellent airplane. It gave me good service, and I sure enjoyed it.”
For the sale price of this plane, click HERE.