Textron Aviation

In a response to customer feedback—and a desire to push well-loved members of its product line forward—Textron Aviation announced on August 4 the new flagship of the Beechcraft line, the King Air 360 and 360ER. With autothrottles, better pressurization, and increased cabin comfort, the latest King Air aims for easing pilot workload, and turning a […]

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 […]

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 Coronavirus may be taking its time to mark a significant number of confirmed cases in the midwestern US, but the aviation manufacturing industry in Wichita, Kansas, is already suffering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on its workforce. Manufacturers, including Textron Aviation, Bombardier, and Spirit AeroSystems, have seen the effects—and express hope that the […]

In July 2018, the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) passed the Direct Renewable Participation Service (DRPS) tariff which enabled large commercial and industrial customers to access wind energy at lower rates than the utility’s current offerings. This has helped to fuel a surge in wind energy production in the state, allowing Textron Aviation to announce a […]

Three major themes took center stage on February 19, 2020, at the annual meeting of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Leaders from OEMs and a broad range of associations and industry executives met for GAMA’s release of its 2019 sales report—but the increase in shipments and billings […]

A year ago, Textron Aviation predicted the first flight of its Cessna Denali turboprop would take place by the end of 2019, but delays in the testing of the new Catalyst engine from GE Aviation have translated into a later delivery of the first test engines to Textron Aviation. The company expects those engines now […]