WICHITA, Kan. – Cessna Aircraft Co., a member of the Providence-based Textron Inc. family of companies, moved one step closer to production of a less-expensive training and light sport craft aircraft with a one-hour test flight of its Model 162 SkyCatcher prototype.
“The first flight of the SkyCatcher is a significant step ahead toward our goal of bringing an affordable training aircraft to market,” said Jack J. Pelton, Cessna’s chairman, president and CEO.
The “SkyCatcher team made an incredible effort to complete the first flight ahead of schedule, and I’m extremely proud of their accomplishments,” program manager Derek Mookhoek said in a statement.
The flight, which began just after 7 a.m. on Saturday, was intended to evaluate the plane’s stability and maneuverability. Test pilot Dale Bleakney flew the plane from Cessna Aircraft Field Airport – next to McConnell Air Force Base – to the Mid-Continental Airport, where it will undergo further testing.
The testing and development work all will be completed in Wichita, the company said. The prototype tested this weekend is the first of three planes that will be constructed in the SkyCatcher program’s development phase. It will be followed by the first production model, then a test vehicle for the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM).
Fabrication of the first production 162, scheduled to fly this spring, is progressing as planned, Cessna said. The ASTM “test article” completed its limit-load testing last week – alongside the new Citation CJR test article – at the company’s structural test facility. The company’s engineering team also is continuing to evaluate the 100-horsepower engine (a Continental O-200), using the proof-of-concept airplane, Cessna said.
The SkyCatcher 162 – with a list price of $111,500 – is expected to have a maximum cruising speed of 118 knots, a range of up to 470 nautical miles, a service ceiling of 15,500 feet and a useful load of 490 pounds.
Its cabin width at shoulder height will be 44.25 inches, the same as that of the far larger six-seat Cessna 206 Stationair. The 162 also will feature two top-hinged cabin doors, seats that pivot forward to give access to a 12.5-cubic-foot baggage compartment, and tricycle landing gear with a castering nose wheel and standard dual toe-actuated disc brakes, Cessna said.
“There is a lot of excitement at Cessna as we progress through our many developmental programs,” Pelton said, “and I’m very proud of our teams for continuing to stay on track.” The Cessna CEO was honored March 4, at a banquet in Washington, D.C., as the winner of the 2008 Aviation Week Laurel for Business and General Aviation.
“Jack Pelton has pushed Cessna to develop, refine and deliver aircraft across its full line – from the SkyCatcher trainer and diesel-powered singles up through the just-announced Columbus, the largest and most capable Citation ever,” William Garvey, editor-in-chief of Business & Commercial Aviation, an Aviation Week Magazine, said in a statement this week. “We editors felt that such leadership in so competitive and dynamic a segment deserved special recognition.”
Besides his efforts to take Cessna into new markets – with both the SkyCatcher training and the planned Columbus large-cabin, long-range business jet – the publishing group lauded him for overseeing the aircraft company’s first acquisition, of assets of Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing Co., in a move to expand Cessna’s single-engine line; and Cessna’s 2007 performance, which included sales of $5 billion and a record backlog of $12.6 billion at year’s end.
Aviation Week also cited his role as voice for industry-wide issues, calling him a national leader in the battle against new fees for business aviation.
Pelton joined Cessna in November 2000, as senior vice president of product engineering. He was named president and CEO in 2003, and chairman in 2005.
Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) is a $13.2 billion company employing about 44,000 people in 34 countries. Its brands include Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO and Greenlee, among others. Additional information is available at www.textron.com.
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