Textron Aviation

Textron Aviation has announced an order for 10 Cessna 172s from the Kansas State University Salina Aerospace and Technology Campus. The order will expand the K-State fleet from 10 to 20 Skyhawks. All the aircraft will be equipped with Garmin G1000 NXi avionics. “Textron Aviation remains committed to supporting the training and development of the […]

An important achievement has been completed in the Catalyst turboprop program: GE Aviation announced Thursday the first flight of its clean-sheet design on a Beechcraft King Air test bed in Berlin, Germany. The one-hour, 40-minute flight departed Berlin’s Schönefeld Airport yesterday morning after completing ground run tests on September 27. Run, baby, run! GE's Catalyst […]

Textron Aviation announced Thursday that with the stroke of a pen, it had passed an important milestone in the progression of its latest King Air models—the 260 and the 360/360ER—with the certification of both under EASA. The approval means that customer deliveries of the workhorse turboprop can begin across Europe. “EASA certification begins a whole […]

As I stood on the Textron Aviation ramp in Wichita, Kansas, for my first look at the company’s new turboprop flagship, the King Air 360, I slipped back in time to a different era and form of transportation: cars (muscle cars as they called them). My pal Lennie had just bought a brand-new, fire-engine-red Chevrolet […]

Textron Aviation has completed the initial ground-test runs of the GE Aviation Catalyst engine on the Beechcraft Denali at one of the company’s facilities in Wichita, Kansas. The clean-sheet design Catalyst was put through its paces to determine its baseline operational status and fuel system functionality. The powerplant’s interface with the avionics and electrical system […]

GE Aviation’s Catalyst engine will be the company’s first, all-new clean sheet turboprop engine in 50 years, according to the company’s website. It borrows many technologies from GE’s big engine business to create a full-authority digital engine control (FADEC) turboprop that—if it lives up to expectations—is certain to give Pratt & Whitney Canada’s venerable PT6 […]

Textron Aviation has announced details about the interior for its Beechcraft King Air 260, the latest in the King Air 200 series. The 260 interior closely matches that of its larger sibling, the King Air 360. There are four standard color schemes: Latte, New Pewter, Alpaca and Buttercream; and one premium option – Lava Saddle. […]

At the Boeing Plaza at the center of the EAA AirVenture showgrounds on Monday, July 26—the first day of the show—Textron Aviation debuted the Cessna 408 SkyCourier, the company’s high-wing, twin turboprop utility airplane. If you want to see the airplane, you need to rush over to Boeing Plaza. The SkyCourier will return to the […]

Textron Aviation today announced in a news release that Surf Air Mobility Inc., has signed a purchase agreement for up to 150 Cessna Grand Caravan EX single-engine turboprop aircraft, with an initial fleet order of 100 aircraft and an option for 50 more. The order is part of an exclusive relationship between the two companies […]

When Textron Aviation first announced the single-engine turboprop Denali in 2015, it was assumed the aircraft would be branded as a Cessna product. On July 20, Textron Aviation announced the new turboprop will become the single-engine aircraft under the Beechcraft brand family with the King Air 260 and 360/360ER as part of the company’s high-performance […]