A Skywagon With the Big-Ticket Mods Already Paid For

Flying has singled out a 1974 Cessna A185F Skywagon in its AircraftForSale listings, and what earns the nod is the equipment rather than the airframe's vintage. The airplane sits on Alaskan Bushwheels and swings a Hartzell propeller installed under an STC, two modifications that otherwise land on the next owner's invoice after closing. With both already in place, the buyer is not budgeting a tire-and-prop project before the first trip to a gravel bar or a ridge-top strip. That matters to an owner whose main airplane lives on a paved ramp and needs five thousand feet of it; the Skywagon is the one that gets to places the jet only flies over. It is a conventional-gear airplane, so the listing is aimed at a pilot who intends to work it rather than admire it.

With reporting from Flying.