Fabrication of the nose section, fuselage, wings, and tailcone of the first three flying prototypes of the new Cessna Denali 12-seat turboprop single is now under way in Wichita, Textron Aviation (Booth V19, SD14) announced on Monday at EBACE 2018. The Denali program was launched at EAA AirVenture in 2015, and Cessna is working toward first flight early next year. It had initially targeted first flight in the third-quarter 2018 and certification in 2019.
“Program engineers are busy building and testing initial flight-test articles using production assembly tools manufactured in-house, and continue to conduct static and fatigue tests on ground test articles,” the company said. “[We look] forward to achieving the first wing mate and completing the prototype airframes as the program nears first flight targeted for early 2019.”
“We’re seeing great interest throughout Europe from piston owners looking to step up to more performance, as well as from turboprop operators,” said Rob Scholl, Textron Aviation senior vice president of sales and marketing.
Cessna's new airplane will be powered by the next-generation GE Aviation Catalyst turboprop engine. GE announced first engine runs of its 1,240-shp Catalyst, which is designed for single-lever power and propeller control via Fadec, in late 2017 and “continues to conduct certification testing,” said Textron. The engine will drive a McCauley 105-inch diameter composite, five-blade, constant speed propeller, with full feathering, reversible pitch, and ice protection.
The $4.8 million aircraft is designed to cruise at 285 knots and have a payload—with full fuel—of 1,100 pounds, giving it a range of 1,600 nm at high-speed cruise, assuming one pilot and four passengers. This means it will be capable of flying nonstop from London to Moscow, Los Angeles to Chicago, or New York to Miami. “From Geneva, the Denali will be able to fly nonstop to nearly any major European city, including Athens and Moscow,” the company said.
In terms of avionics, the Denali will feature Garmin G3000 intuitive touchscreen avionics with three large high-resolution displays and split-screen capability. It will incorporate a solid-state weather radar, advanced TAWS, and ADS-B, “ensuring compliance with the FAA’s NexGen air traffic control requirements.”