Upon approaching the aircraft, the first thing to strike me was its size. It really is quite an imposing machine. The next thing that impressed me was the build quality – it really is quite exceptional, as indeed it should be for an aircraft that costs in excess of £200,000. Moving around the aircraft revealed no unusual design features. Indeed, from the Land-O-Matic cantilever tapered steel tube main undercarriage to the tip of its swept-back fin, the Stationair’s looks are classic Cessna. However, I did immediately notice one departure from most other single-engine Cessnas – on this machine there is only a door for the pilot and co-pilot on the left-hand side. This is because just aft of the wing on the right side there is an enormous double door that provides access to the rear and middle seats, as well as the baggage area. Consequently, a cockpit door on the same side would reduce the airframe’s structural integrity. Closer inspection revealed that the wing is also considerably different to the Model 172 – on the 206 the flaps extend past the wing taper in order to generate more lift and drag. Obviously, this means that the ailerons are slightly smaller, and so to compensate for this, the 206’s ailerons are of the much more efficient Frise variety. Many other Cessnas are fitted with crude, flat plate ailerons, and regular readers of Today’s Pilot will be aware of my opinion of these rather ineffective devices!

The Stationair was already beginning to grow on me, and upon settling into the pilot’s seat this trend continued. Firstly, the door shut the way an expensive vehicle’s door should shut – smoothly and positively. The interior had that lovely ‘new leather’ smell and was very luxuriously appointed, although obviously, my main interest was in the controls, instrument panel and pilot’s seat. The seat moves six ways, with plenty of adjustment both vertically and horizontally. The seat lock is also much more positive, with the locking holes now drilled through the seat rail horizontally not vertically. A three-point inertia reel harness replaces the ghastly arrangement fitted to earlier Cessnas. The other seats are also worth a mention. The back seat is a bench, while the middle seats are separate. Each seat has sockets for headphones and oxygen, as well as individual air vents and lights.

The instrument layout shares a considerable amount of commonality with other Cessna singles and is quite tidy, with the primary flight instruments laid out directly in front of the pilot. The 206 gives the impression of being a very capable aircraft, and this is reinforced by the comprehensive instrument fit. The standard package is more than satisfactory for instrument flight, consisting of dual Nav/Coms, ILS receiver and audio panel with marker beacons, plus a Mode C transponder with digital encoder. An optional upgrade includes an approach certified IFR GPS and two-axis autopilot.

The engine instruments are logically grouped, although I did feel that, unlike the rest of the panel, it was a bit old fashioned. Furthermore, it is not so easy to see the RPM and manifold pressure gauges as they are behind the yoke. Having recently flown aircraft fitted with state-of-the-art instrumentation, I couldn’t help but feel that it should really have a large liquid crystal display with both digital and analogue presentations. What’s more, it should also have engine personality mapping. Apart from the aforementioned instruments, there is an annunciator panel built into the glareshield that warns of low voltage, low fuel, low oil pressure, and failure of the vacuum system. The glare shield also incorporates a very neat fluorescent tube, which lights up the instrument panel. And for your added comfort, the cockpit has lots of air vents and a pair of handy Rosen sun visors.

The flight and engine controls are all well laid out and easily accessible. The pilot’s yoke has buttons for autopilot disconnect, pitch trim and PTT, and also features a handy approach plate holder. Furthermore, the rudder pedals are a good size and feature a nice step for the toe-actuated hydraulic disc brakes. Moving on to the power controls, I noted that Cessna has retained the plunger arrangement for the throttle, prop and mixture controls, and while I prefer a proper quadrant, this system does have the advantage of freeing up space between the seats. Also it is true that Vernier-type controls can make for very accurate selection of prop speed and mixture. The fuel selector is located between the front seats and has four positions – Left, Right, Both and Off. Its design is an improvement on fuel selectors in earlier Cessna aircraft because it is impossible to turn the fuel off without first pushing down on the selector. Maximum fuel capacity is 73 gallons, all of which are carried in the wet-wings (no fuel tank bladder). Also located between the seats are the trim wheels for rudder and elevator. Engine cooling is entirely manual, via cowl flaps, with the cowl flap lever being located directly beneath the mixture control.

Starting the 206 is essentially the same as any other fuel-injected Lycoming. With the fuel on ‘both’, turn the master switch on with the mixture rich and the throttle open. Then turn the electric fuel pump on, and having noted the fuel flow, count to four. Then turn the pump off, close the throttle and retard the mixture to idle/cut off. It is then simply a matter of engaging the starter, and as soon as the engine fires, push the mixture to rich, set the throttle to 1000rpm and monitor the oil pressure.

Taxiing out to Kidlington’s very busy runway with Nick in the right hand seat, the Stationair rolled along with a very stately air and a purposeful feel. It is quite a big aircraft for a single piston engine, and the impression of size is emphasised by the large instrument panel and chunky control yokes.

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