E-Flite/Horizon Hobby UMX Cessna 182

A maximum-fun, minimum-size monoplane

- Mike Gantt

Founded by a farmer named Clyde Cessna, the Cessna Aircraft Company underwent plenty of trials and tribulations. In 1932, Cessna was forced to close its doors due to the Great Depression. Then just a year later, Cessna rolled out a race plane, won the American Air Race in Chicago, and set a new world speed record. The next year, Clyde sold the company to his nephews, who turned the business into the successful giant we know today. Many of us have had or will have our first general-aviation flight in a Cessna because they’re safe, ubiquitous, and easy to fly. Cessna model aircraft are also popular, and pilots love flying them. Recapturing the concept of the Cessna 182 Skylane, this ultra micro foam has an authentic outline and plenty of detailing. Offered as a BNF (bind-and-fly) basic kit, you will need a DSM2/ DSMX-compatible transmitter and a small 280mAh 2-cell battery pack. There is no assembly required— just fun to be had.

UNIQUE FEATURES

A big brown van delivered a small brown box and inside was a full-photo display-type box. Within that carton was a cut-to-fit foam insert, which held the model safely despite a crushed outer carton corner. In addition to the complete assembled airframe inside, I found a piece of hook-and-loop tape and a multilingual instruction manual. Since a DX18 and a couple of other 2-cell UMX planes were already in the hangar, I was able to use/share batteries and bind my radio immediately. The recommended flight pack is a tiny 2S 280mAh (2S 200mAh packs also work fine with just a little less flight time). One note is that these mini batteries only have a balance plug attached to them, so make sure you get a proper charging adapter if you don’t already have one.