Cessna has sold 15 182T Skylanes to the US Civil Air Patrol (CAP) for delivery this year. Earlier this year, the CAP signed contracts with Cessna, Maule, Gippsland and Luscombe allowing aircraft to be purchased as required for US homeland security missions. The contracts cover more than $12 million in aircraft purchases over three years.
The CAP says it has so far purchased 28 Cessna 182Ts and six Gippsland GA8 Airvans, with orders pending for Maule MT-7-235s and Luscombe 11Es. New deliveries will boost the CAP fleet to its maximum of 550 aircraft, after which the USAir Force auxiliary will begin replacing older piston singles. The CAP performs inland search-and-rescue and disaster relief missions using volunteer pilots.
Australian firm Gippsland will assemble GA8s ordered by the CAP at a location in California. US certification of the single-piston utility aircraft, required before deliveries can begin, is pending. All aircraft covered by the "indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity" contracts, which includes Cessna 172s and 206s, will be equipped with the CAP avionics package, 406MHz emergency locator transmitter and multi-frequency direction finder.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale has taken delivery of seven Cessna 172RSkyhawks for its flight training programme. The university traded in its seven ageing Cessna 152s to help pay for the purchase.Source: Flight International
