AS AN INSTRUCTOR, I often use analogies for pilots I fly with, drawing from their past experience to create points of connection for them in the new airplane or environment in which we're training. It's a natural thing to say to a student, "Since you learned to fly in a Piper Warrior, the Arrow will feel similar in the sight picture you have on landing-provided you've remembered to put the gear down." All poor CFI humor aside, some transfer of learning in this way makes sense. And at other times, it falls short-or could even work against the pilot seeking to understand the aircraft. Because so many pilots have stepped up from a primary trainer into a Cessna 182 as a first high-performance signoff, that particular model provides a great frame of reference for many as they move further up the ranks in horsepower and complexity: "Piece of cake: It lands just like a 182." In this issue, 934, in our new series, FLYING'S Air Compare by Jason McDowell, we look at two members of the same family as the 182-the Cessna 210, which debuted in 1959 as a 1960 model, and the 206, which followed on from the 205 and joined the 210 in 1964. Both represented an easy step up for the pilot transitioning from smaller models in the line- and especially for the 182 to 206 checkout, which is noted by most pilots to be a non-event. There are solid reasons for this, having to do with the wings outlining a similar planform, as I re-discovered when researching in the archives our pilot reports on all three models.
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