Textron Aviation

Textron Aviation recently delivered a mission-ready Beechcraft King Air 350CER turboprop to the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Marine & Aviation Operations (OMAO). NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans and coasts and conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. The new […]

In order to protect pilots and passengers from items that could come loose and fly around the cockpit of a variety of Textron Aviation aircraft, the DOT recently issued SAFO 20016 focused on operators that have installed a center console manufactured by Saircorp. These consoles are fitted between the front seats of Cessna aircraft models […]

Textron Aviation announced the new Beechcraft King Air 260 at VBACE 2020, with the model already in production for deliveries to begin in the first half of 2021. The latest entrant in the legendary turboprop series joins the King Air 360, which entered service in late October, alongside the 360ER. Like the 360, the 260 […]

California-based Stamoules Produce Company delivers fruits, vegetables, and nuts from its 17,000-acre farm in the San Joaquin Valley, where it traces a history back to 1927. For its first corporate aircraft, the company selected a twin turboprop with a long history as well—the Beechcraft King Air 360, the latest model produced from the storied line […]

FlightSafety International’s Textron Aviation Training program now offers King Air 360 pilot training at its Tampa Learning Center, while courses for maintenance technicians to support the airplane will be held at the Wichita Maintenance Learning Center, located next to the Textron Aviation Service Center. The new Beechcraft King Air 360 offers digital pressurization for cabin […]

The FAA published its final AD on inspections for a long series of single-engine Textron Aviation (Cessna) aircraft. The airworthiness directive goes into effect on November 12, 2020. The AD was prompted by cracks found in the lower area of the forward cabin doorpost bulkhead, and it requires repeated inspections of the lower area of […]

Textron Aviation announced on October 5 the FAA type certification of the upgrades to its Becchcraft King Air 300 series—the King Air 360 and 360ER—paving the way for deliveries to begin. The 360 and 360ER feature autothrottles from Innovative Solutions & Support that ease pilot workload in most phases of flight, including takeoff, climb, cruise, […]

And then there were three: Textron Aviation continues apace with its flight test program on the twin turboprop, the Cessna SkyCourier, adding a third test article to the pre-production fleet. The aircraft, P2 in company parlance, made its first flight on September 28, 2020, in Wichita. That initial flight, led by pilots Todd Dafton and […]

ATP Flight School accepted delivery of eight new Garmin G-1000 NXi-equipped Cessna 172 Skyhawks from Textron Aviation during the week of September 1. This brings the number of training aircraft at ATP to more than 410 around the world. ATP said in a news release that its expansion is still being driven by the long-term […]

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 […]