Story ID: 342
Textron Aviation Rapidly Expanding Turboprop Lines
By: Kerry Lynch
Caption: Order activity has picked up for King Airs and Caravans, while Textron Aviation adds the SkyCourier and Denali to the lineup.
Word Count: 1235
Textron Aviation (Booth CD11) is arriving at Singapore with a rapidly growing turboprop family as the Wichita, Kansas manufacturer introduces the all new SkyCourier twin and the new single-engine Denali comes together.

In November Textron Aviation took the wraps off the new Cessna SkyCourier 408 that will become the largest in its growing in-production turboprop lineup. At the same time, the manufacturer announced its first customer, FedEx Express, with an order for up to 100. A long-time customer of Textron Aviation’s Cessna Caravan, FedEx signed a contract for 50 cargo variants of the SkyCourier and options for up to 50 more. Including options, the order carries a potential value of up to $550 million, based on the $5.5 million list price. Deliveries are slated to begin in 2020.

While building on the heritage of the Caravan, the new high-wing SkyCourier is a new design. “The aircraft will fulfill a gap in this market segment with its superior performance and low operating costs in combination with the cabin flexibility, payload capability, and efficiency only a clean-sheet design can offer,” said Scott Ernest, Textron Aviation president and CEO.

The SkyCourier is designed as a “workhorse,” added Scott Donnelly, chairman and CEO of Textron Aviation parent company Textron. “No one is looking for fancy here...It needs to have reliability, durability. This is all about utility and our ability to get to market quickly.”

The aircraft will be equipped with proven components already in production, such as the -65 variant of Pratt & Whitney Canada’s PT6A turboprop engines and Garmin G1000 avionics, and will be built from traditional aluminum materials. “We tried to keep the airplane remarkably simple so it has the highest possible dispatch reliability construction,” said Brad Thress, senior vice president, engineering for Textron Aviation.

Thress said the innovation surrounding the design involves its ability to accommodate heavy cargo demands. Key features include an 87-inch cargo door and a flat floor; a nearly 70-inch almost “square” tall and wide cabin that can accommodate up to three LD3 shipping containers; and a maximum payload of 6,000 pounds. In addition, the aircraft will be designed for single-point pressure refueling to speed turnaround time.

FedEx, which has operated Caravans for more than 30 years, had worked with Cessna over the past seven months, Thress said, “to co-develop this product into what it needs to be to be successful in its service.”

The aircraft, which also can be laid out in a 19-passenger configuration, will be capable of flying up to 900 nm and as fast as 200 ktas. The passenger variant will include crew and passenger doors, along with large cabin windows.

“We obviously do a fair amount of activity with the Caravan in the passenger version…There’s always been additional demand for a larger passenger carrier aircraft,” said Ernest, adding the demand exists worldwide, but especially in developing nations.

But beyond FedEx, Textron Aviation also sees other opportunities in a growing cargo market, as well as for special missions.

The company had contemplated on and off for years a larger version of the Caravan, Donnelly added. “This is a logical thing for us to do. We have a great track record with the Caravan. It’s a logical place for us to be.”

Plans call for wind-tunnel tests to begin shortly with test articles starting “to flow” later in 2018 as the program heads toward first flight in 2019. Ernest said the company opted for the PT6A platform—rather than the GE Advanced Turboprop (ATP) that is powering the company’s all-new Cessna Denali—because of the timing of the program and availability of the engine.
Denali Development
While it moves forward rapidly with the SkyCourier, the company is also rapidly progressing with the eight-passenger Denali single. Thress said the company has entered “into the fun part of the program” where it yields parts and begins tests.

Set to fly later this year and enter service in 2019, the aircraft is designed to fly at a speed of 285 ktas, carry a payload of 1,100 pounds, and have a 1,600-nm range.

One of the earliest tests involved the cargo door, a key component of the new utility aircraft. “Doors can be tricky and there’s a lot of new rules around latching and locking door. We'vee got to make sure it is all approved,” Thress said.

More recently the Denali program hit another milestone when the ATP completed the first run on December 22 at GE’s Prague engine manufacturing facility in the Czech Republic. The Denali is the first application for the 1,240-shp ATP.

As the aircraft progresses, the company has developed a virtual reality program that enables prospective clients to walk through and around the aircraft and alter configurations. The clients get an idea of the size and scope of the aircraft using the virtual reality tool that is stationed at its east campus in Wichita.

Christi Tannahill, Textron Aviation senior vice president of interior design and engineering, said the introduction of the virtual really tool has gprovided good feedback as the company continues to refine interiors and options. She added customer feedback has played a strong role in the development of the aircraft.

Customer response has been strong, with the first year of production of the $4.8 million aircraft already sold out, Rob Scholl, senior vice president sales and marketing, has told reporters. A number of prospect of its other lines have inquired about the Denali as well, he said.

“We are feeling very good about the market space,” Ernest added. “We are going to have a brand new product in a space that hasn’t had an investment in a significant amount of time. It will compete effectively with anything in that space.
King Air and Caravan at Singapore
While Textron Aviation moves forward with new products, it continues to build on the base of its existing lines. On display at Singapore will be two members of its long-standing King Air and Caravan lines: the 350i and Grand Caravan EX.

The company’s turboprop lines have had substantial success in the Asia-Pacific region, where more than 1,000 have been delivered. This includes more than 140 in China, where the company has an arrangement with China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (Caiga) for the assembly and sales of the Caravan there.

Both King Air and Caravan deliveries had softened through the first three quarters of 2017, but the company remained encouraged about order activity. “We’ve had a lot of great activity all across the board on the turboprop side,” Scholl said late last year, adding that a number of deals have been in the pipeline but it was a matter of timing.

The King Air continues to draws special-mission interest, he added, noting a deal for 10 King Air 250s to Babcock Scandinavian Air Ambulance. The company also began shipments of eight King Air 250s and a King 350 to CanWestAir.

The Caravan has also attracted fleet orders, as well as interest from cargo and individual orders, Scholl had added. The company additionally had begun delivery of 10 of its Grand Caravan EXs to Tuareg Aviation for operation in Botswana.

The activity, Scholl said, is “a good sign for us over all.”