Cessna

Last year at AirVenture, Cessna rolled out its latest Caravan, and it is the most powerful Cessna-built 208 yet. The new model will maintain its 208B designation, but it will give operators a great deal more power, thanks to a new Pratt & Whitney turboprop engine — the PT6-140 — which Pratt developed expressly for […]

Waco, Texas-based Blackhawk Modifications is getting close to achieving STC approval for its Cessna 208A XP42A upgrade package, which replaces the 675 shp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-114A with an 850 shp PT6A-42A engine spinning a 100-inch-diameter Hartzell four-blade prop. The performance of the new engine is monitored by Blackhawk’s Hawkeye DigiLog engine gauges and the […]

The first production example of the new Cessna 182 JT-A Turbo Skylane made its inaugural flight this week, ushering in a new era as the first modern single-engine piston airplane designed specifically to run on jet-A. “The Turbo Skylane JT-A performed just as expected,” said Cessna senior test pilot Dale Bleakney. “The weather conditions were […]

Cessna CEO Scott Ernest updated the European market on Cessna’s current business state during the EBACE show in Geneva. Since it’s primarily a business aviation venue, he started with a report on the developmental jets in the company design pipeline. He said, “The Garmin 3000-equipped Citation M2 is right on track,” adding that the new […]

Cessna employees in Independence, Kansas, had reason to celebrate this week as the first production Citation M2 fuselage was attached to its wings. “This is the moment when we can see an aircraft take shape, and we hope it is equally exciting for our customers who want to start flying their M2,” said Dick Friesen, […]

When trying to come up with a site for floatplane heaven, you’d go through a lot of places before you hit upon Texas, but this didn’t stop me from saying “yes” when Cessna’s chief pilot of propeller airplanes, Kirby Ortega, dropped me a note asking if I wanted to go float flying with Cessna’s resident […]

Cessna’s Citation line of jets was named after the 1948 winner of the Kentucky Derby. Cessna has a presence at Louisville International Airport (KSDF) this weekend as more than 600 expected general aviation aircraft arrive for the Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs. After winning the Derby, Citation went on to capture the Preakness […]

The new Citation Sovereign made its maiden production flight recently, giving Cessna test pilots their first opportunity to evaluate the upgraded jet’s performance and handling. The flight originated near Cessna’s manufacturing plant in Wichita, Kansas, and lasted for two-and-a-half hours. During that time, Cessna’s test crew performed evaluations of the Garmin G5000 avionics panel, the […]

Earlier this week at a Cessna Citation owners conference in Wichita, Cessna President and CEO Scott Ernest responded to a blog in Tuesday’s Flying eNews entitled “Cessna CJ Hiatus: End of the Niche Jet.” The article wondered what Cessna’s slowdown in Citation production, announced earlier in the week, might mean in the long run for […]

With 13 airplanes on the production line, Cessna’s jet-A-burning Turbo Skylane JT-A is on schedule for certification and first deliveries before the end of June. “We are on track,” said Jeff Umscheid, business leader for the project. “We have been taking orders since [EAA AirVenture 2012 last summer].” The JT-A’s SMA diesel engine is exhibiting […]