Airtest – Cessna Stationair 206

Cargo hauliers, small companies, feeder and tourist flight operators – even big families, are all eminently suited to the Stationair 6 and its quick-change capabilities.

Operators can, if they feel the urge, alter the seating arrangements to club seat configuration in a matter of minutes. Cessna calls the club seating capability plus refreshment centre and writing table, comfort/convenience options …

Apart from the obvious publicity gimmicks, the Stationair 6 is all aeroplane, with hefty enough muscle to make it an economic proposition for either cargo, passengers – or both, at the drop of a hat.

It has marketed well in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia, where distances mean that operators want something more than your usual 182 or 210; something capable of taking anything and everything the terrain and weather can dish out, on or off the bitumen. Looking at 1 980’s Stationair by Cessna, refinements include a wet wing, new door handle-operated latch pins sealing the front (and only) door giving a quieter cabin, and new seat recline levers.

Wichita has also come up with optional right-hand seat rudder pedals, and anti-ice gear covers the prop, windshield, pilot and stall warning.

In brief; payload, purchase price and performance are the three strong legs on which the 206 marketing philosophy stands.

Operating ease and economy are unmatched, claim Cessna. As a cargo aircraft, it is uniquely capable, and when it comes to efficiency it’s the logical choice.

Stationary 6’s claim in the Efficiency Stakes centres around the fact that it delivers an outstanding 64. 2 seat miles/gallon US, or an average of 9 ton-miles/gall US.

It also means a climb at sea level of 920fpm, a 147-knot cruise, a service ceiling of 14,800ft and a satisfying 900nm range.

The Stationair 6 is a Big Bird – more than 28ft long, and when one looks back from the front seat one realise just how big. Useful load is pegged at 1 685Ib – and AADR has heard some pretty hairy tales of some Stationair Sixes being loaded way above that figure and getting away with it handsomely with nary a groan. Rex Aviation says it doesn’t keep Stationair 6s in the showroom for long, such is the regular demand for an aircraft without standing payload/range/efficiency characteristics.

When Rex told AADR’s evaluation team that a copy had been ferried in from the US, we were quick to take up the offer of an evaluation sortie – we had to be. An earlier date with a Six had to be cancelled when Rex sold the aircraft in between our acceptance and arrival at Bankstown …

Rex provided Stationair U206G, USregistered N5448X for this evaluation, along with an old friend in George Williams who currently demonstrates Cessna’s corporate range.

The aircraft bore the serial U20605697 and had only ferry hours on it.

The aircraft flown would cost a client about $82,000. Generally, however, a Cessna 206 works out to around the $83,000 mark, including a NavoMatic 200A autopilot.

Stationair 6s operating in Australia include aerial mappers, general utes, and a lot still flying in Papua-NG, according to Rex officials.

Eyeballing the evaluation aircraft during the walkaround, we were assured that despite its length there are no significant C of G problems when loading up, unless the pilot happens to be a congenital idiot.

There’s one door forward – lefthand side, and a cavernous two-door cargo aperture starboard side aft, big enough to drive a coach and four through – if you happen to be cargoing a coach and four.

Wichita’s big single sits wide on a rugged undercard – that same Land-OMatic job that’s been standard for years. Finish is above average, and it is obvious that Cessna has made the most in strength in terms of its semi-monocoque design.

Despite the size of this single, the Stationair 6 is pretty to look at in terms of proportions. Inside the office, the usual Cessna style is immediately apparent, but things we noted included a new type flap setting indicator and lever, a split Normal/Emergency fuel pump switch, and the now-standard Master for radios.

Most flight instruments are easy to scan, on the panel’s left side Engine, fuel flow, contents and pressure gauges sit right, separated from the flight instruments by nav/coms, and a Nav-O-Matic 200A autopilot.

A line of rockers and circuit-breakers fringes the lower edge of the panel’s left side. Fuel selector is on the floor. Engine start for the big Teledyne Continental IO-520-F fuel-injected motor (rated at 300bhp at 2850rpm for take-off – max time at this setting is five minutes; max continuous is rated at 285bhp at 2700rpm) is standard for the type:

Mixture RICH, prop HIGH revs, close throttle, auxiliary fuel pump ON, advance throttle until 8-10 galls/hrs indicates, then close the throttle. Aux pump OFF, switch on to START, and advance throttle until the motor fires.

The big engine grumbling away surprisingly quietly on its mountings (a great engineering and acoustic advancement when one considered the 300 horses working on the other side of the firewall), brakes were tested before taxing and found extremely powerful and progressive.

Normal checks en route to the holding point were carried out in a strangely cathedral-like atmosphere. A glance astern showed why – there were apparently quite a few acres of space left in the main cabin, the sort of space one expects from a mid-range twin.

Manual take-off figures showed the flap range for this phase at 0-20 degrees. Twenty were selected after the runup. The evaluation aircraft was considerably under the 3600Ibs max t/o weight. With two up-and-half tanks, we were about 1100lb under gross as Fortyeight Xray was wheeled onto the business end of Runway 29, cowl flaps open and about half a turn of the right trim wound in to compensate for expected torque swing. Outside air temperature was hardly notching 12C as the 206 built up speed briskly with insignificant swing apparent.

With little or nil wind assist the aircraft left the ground in well under the carded 900ft (expected in this light condition) as the ASI indicated 50 knots. Speed buildup was immediate and the aircraft climbed away on the runway heading at better than 1000fpm, heading for the west. Bringing back revs from take-off rpm, climbing at between 78-80kts indicated, en route climb was set up. This meant a speed increase to between 90 and 100ktsIAS, setting up 25/2550, cowl flaps partly open and leaning to 18gph/US.

Slow speeds were chosen as the first test phase. This proved that the big Stationair 6 is a docile beast despite its gigantic people/cargo appetite. At one stage the test aircraft was bumbling along without apparent care, flaps down, being rolled from wingtip to wingtip with the ASI off the clock, way past the 35-knot minimum reading and the needle not more than a quarter of an inch from the stop. Stalls were a non-event – a sink rate notching about 500-600 feet a minute, the big Six nodding its head off but refusing to break apart from a halfhearted tendency to flop off on its left wing on one occasion. Climbing turns were accomplished without perspiration at 60 indicated.

During the stall phase, the 206 became somewhat irritated – not unless a thoroughbred when reined in against its will – but there was only mild buffet coming through from the elevators. At 4000ft the Stationair 6 was set up in a typical cruise, using the 25/2500 combination giving about 70 per cent power. Results were startling and made the Manual a document of ultraconservative figures. With OAT (outside air temperature) registering + BC and 147 indicated, true airspeed read out at 156 knots – 180 miles per hour …

Big was undoubtedly Beautiful. A brief workout at Haxton Park en route to Bankstown meant a demonstration of a typical Cessna; docile, purposeful in direction and very tractable in all planes.

A touch and go proved the point, despite a cross-wind and pilot input. A full stop after go-round and re-landing was a further demonstration of the Stationair 6 is a short-field lander, the evaluation aircraft stopping in far less than the carded 735 ft, brakes coming into play progressively without judder or snatch. A short field take-off with 20 degrees of flap hanging in the breeze meant increasing power against brakes, rolling and then gently lifting off around the 45-knot mark, with just a hint of pre-stall warning. The ground fell away in something like 700 feet …

The Stationair 6 is a strong climber. In light conditions, an initial 2000fpm was registered when changing altitudes, settling down to 1400fpm with 80 indicated. True, the Big Six was somewhat skittish in some configurations, obviously being more used to bigger loads to haul. In approach mode we ran out of back trim early in the exercise, but even in light configuration, it was almost impossible to detect any event. Insignificant faults, apart from pilot error on one or two occasions, in the light weather. The evaluation proved Wichita’s point that the Stationair 6 as marketed by Rex Aviation is a consistent favourite with people who want a big, reliable flying station wagon, fast and economical. We suppose the only analogy one can draw is that of a massive station wagon with a four-cylinder engine, in the ground travel conveyance vehicle, as far as – true economy goes.

For the record, the evaluation aircraft entered the circuit during our test at a whisker under 120 knots. Slowing down was ease itself – the aircraft is obedient to precise power changes and anyway one can hang out the first 10 degrees of flap at 140 indicated. Base and final entries were flown at between 75 and 85 knots, with the second stage coming out early, producing insignificant to moderate pitch changes.

Speed was bled off to around the 60 mark on short finals with full flap, without undue elevator load.

Long-range cruise proves the point Wich it makes about cost-effectiveness; with 75 per cent power settings, the 206 lollops along at 6500ft, 88 galls/US on board, for 680 nautical miles – or 4. 7 whichever takes your fancy. hours, At 10,000ft range is stretched to 900nm, with reserves.

At the 6500ft level, you should be looking at 156 knots.

Other figures logged during the evaluation of one of Cessna’s biggest singles – and a worthy sister to the 207 and massive 208 eight-seater included: Vne(never exceed) 183s lAS. Vno 149kts. Vfe(10 degree) 140kts. Forty degrees, 100kts. Max window open speed 183kts.

In summary, the Cessna 206 might have been built to Australian requirements, so neatly it slots into tourist, smaller charter and corporate, rural and outback work.

The Stationair 6 affords comfort on the one hand and convertibility on the other. As Wichita says, if one has six people to move in comfort, the Big Six is a roomy airliner.

But if one has machine parts, bags of feed or other rural requirements, or other equipment to get to Point 8, the 206 quickly becomes a cargo aircraft.

We found the 206 to be a load-thirsty machine, matching its capacity with economy across the board.

As an aircraft, it has the typical Cessna ability to get into and out of small, unprepared places without hair-raising tendencies.