Cessna

The second flight test article for the Cessna SkyCourier program took flight in Wichita on August 11. In Textron Aviation company parlance, the first conforming prototype is referred to as “P1,” and it was this component of the SkyCourier program that made its first flight from Wichita’s Beech Factory Airport (KBEC). Piloted by engineering flight […]

Seattle-based Fast Rabbit Aviation, LLC, recently became the latest customer to accept delivery of a Cessna Citation M2 entry-level jet. Textron Aviation said in a news release that the owners of Fast Rabbit Aviation will use their new M2 for frequent trips throughout the West Coast of the US; the aircraft is able to fly nonstop with […]

Early in my multi-engine flight training in the Cessna 310, the instructor and I practiced the required maneuvers, including loss of an engine on takeoff, as well as an engine failure in cruise. To this day I remember Dave telling me to consider a cruise engine failure just as seriously as the one at takeoff […]

The Civil Air Patrol has inked a contract with Textron Aviation for 17 piston aircraft, including 11 172S Skyhawks, 5 182T Skylanes, and a T206HD Stationair. The aircraft join a fleet of nearly 550 Cessna aircraft on the CAP’s flightlines, and they were purchased using fiscal year 2020 funds. “From search and rescue, to disaster […]

A proposed airworthiness directive stands to affect 6,586 Cessna 180, 182, and 185 models, driven by a report of cracks found in the tailcone and horizontal stabilizer attachment on a 185 that had displayed excessive play while undergoing maintenance. “After a detailed inspection, the tailcone reinforcement braces were found cracked on both sides of the […]

Electric propulsion designer Magnix, working alongside engineering and flight test specialist AeroTEC, said the Magnix Magni/500-powered Cessna 208B Caravan they launched last week is now the largest all-electric, zero emissions, passenger or cargo aircraft ever to fly. The Caravan test bed aircraft lifted off from Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington, for a […]

One takeaway from this tragedy: Altitude is the best defense.

Cessna Aircraft’s SkyCourier, the company’s first new twin turboprop aircraft in a generation, took to the skies over Wichita, Kansas, on Sunday, May 17, for its first flight—a significant step toward entry into service for the clean-sheet aircraft. The SkyCourier departed the company’s Beech Field Airport (KBEC) east campus, with Corey Eckhart, senior test pilot […]

The Cessna 408—known by its marketing name, the SkyCourier—marked a new milestone in its development program on March 23, when Textron Aviation announced the completion of a successful series of initial ground tests, including engine run. The prototype of the twin utility turboprop, named for its primary mission, features two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65SC […]

The flight is almost over now. You’re on that early portion of the downwind, that time when the power is pulled back, and the airplane is slowing in preparation for landing. The air is like a glass-topped coffee table: smooth and clear. This gliding feeling reminds you of ice sliding on a smooth surface. Through […]