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New Small Aircraft Takes Flight
Cessna has designed a new aircraft. The Cessna 408 SkyCourier, I believe, is the largest aircraft that Cessna has made. It’ll carry up to 19 passengers or three tons of cargo for 460 miles at 230 mph. Powered by twin turbo prop engines, it’s almost the exact opposite of any plane that Boeing makes. A high wing design, it’s far smaller, short-range and cheap — around $5.5 million each. For a commercial plane, that’s a bargain. Its first flight was just a few weeks ago, on May 17, it has yet to receive FAA certification, but is expected to enter service next year.
FedEx has signed on to take the first 50 — with options on 50 more.
This could be quite a departure for Cessna, which is primarily known for making small private aircraft. This would be Cessna’s largest foray into the commercial aviation market place.
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Published in Economics
Minor quibble: is this really Cessna’s first foray into commercial aircraft? Their aircraft have, after all, been used for charters, very small regional service, and smaller hops for years. They already have the Caravan and Grand Caravan, which are already small passenger / small cargo planes, and the Citation jet lineup at the high end.
That being said, the Skycourier certainly seems a natural addition to the lineup, and fills an open niche in their offerings.
I want one!
I hope it works out for them. Cessnas have always been fine airplanes.
My dad’s first plane was a 152, which he later traded in on a 172 Skyhawk. That was and still is a fantastic airframe design. Treat them right, keep them serviced, and they’re incredibly sturdy and versatile.
FedEx runs a huge secondary fleet of turboprops. The crews are contracted employees rather than part of the regular pilot fleet. My wife got to know a bunch of them; they were in single piloted aircraft, servicing smaller cities. One of the guys she knew that flew out of Austin had a plane go down someplace and the next day he told her “I survived the crash. Now I must survive the investigation”.
Fedex drivers are often independent contractors as well.
Not for the Express part of the company – just the ground portion.
I like the Sky Master myself. It’s the in-line twin engine push pull model. Almost bought one once. Got a boat instead. You can get a nice used one for under 100k.
Ok, you’re right. I think this is the largest plane that Cessna has ever made, I wish they’d step up a little larger even – make something to replace the old Dash 8s. Something twice the size of this fellow.
I think for the price of this plane – I’d rather have a Cessna Citation. Fewer passengers, much longer range, and almost twice as fast. They can be picked up used for around $3.5 million.
Looks like it’s designed to be a successor to the Twin Otter (which are still being made).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Canada_DHC-6_Twin_Otter
I think the Sky Master was the only push-pull configuration to achieve any kind of commercial success. On a whole I dont think they’re very popular.The configuration is much sleeker in the Adams A-500. (which only 7 where built and the company has gone bankrupt)
Yes, I think the entire piston/turbo prop line up is a clone of De Havilland. Look at Cessna 172-182, 206-210 and dont tell me you see a Beaver.
I got my private pilot certificate in a Cessna 152, then moved up to a 172. Great airplanes! However, I gave up on flying because the cost of owning one was prohibitive . . .
My dad gave up his license once he hit the age where he required a full medical every year. He belonged to a flying club, and would rent a Cessna 172 to take us up on weekends during the summer. He never owned his own airplane.
When doctors and lawyers go halfsies, and fourthsies on owning an airplane, you know it’s expensive. I even thought about building my own. Bought a set of plans for a KR-2. However, I built a mockup of the cockpit and said, “This thing is too damn small. Not enough room for me and a babe to travel comfortably.”
Even a kit plane is tremendously expensive $150 000 to $350 000 – you know for something that wont fold up in a high wind – plus your time, shop space and equipment for assembly. You could easily be looking at $500 k for a home built airplane.
Its just an illustration of how inflation has eaten our lifestyles in our lifetimes. My dad, who worked as lumber yard laborer, and then as an electrician after he was married – could afford flying lessons, and obtain a pilot’s license, and rent a plane often enough to keep is hours up and stay current on flight requirements… I wonder if there is a market for restoring scrapped aircraft? Buy an old piper cub or Beaver… Get it airworthy again… Maybe that’s the way to get an affordable airplane?
It is a certification issue. Part 25 for commercial planes, designed to carry passengers for revenue, Part 23 for private operations, which can be charter or cargo. Cessna struggles with Latitude, and Hemisphere was cancelled. Both larger biz jets.
I dunno if I’d call the SkyCourier a clone, exactly, since it has more than double the cargo capacity of the Twin Otter.
However, now that I think about it a bit more, I’d need to know more about the SkyCourier’s capabilities in rugged environments before definitively calling it a successor. Can it be turned into a float plane? Can it be fitted with landing skis? Can it operate from tundra landing strips? How are it’s STOL capabilities? Etc.
Deleted because I hit reply instead of edit.
It is a particular type of inflation: that brought about by massively larger liability insurance premiums, at one point so bad that Cessna shut down their small aircraft building for almost a decade, until liability laws were reformed. Before Cessna resumed production in 94/95, 172s were already nosing into the 6 figure prices, even for old airframes. Cessnas used to be priced around the same cost as a middle tier car. I was checking prices this morning and even 1970s examples are around $85k, which is steep (though comparatively less so than it was in the early 90s).
The PushMePullYou … twintailed and twin engined tractor and pusher prop. Reciporcating enginees. The O-2 Army observation plane. Comes as a fixed gear unpressurized and retracting gear pressurized version. Flew one when I was a boy in CAP (Civil Air Patrol). The rear engine requires an overhaul about 400 hours sooner than the forward engine because it tends to overheat because its shrouded by the fuselage. You can see one in action during the rescue scenes of a movie called “foxbat one”
Yes I have watched that movie. Staring Gene Hackman and Danny Glover .We left hundreds of them in Vietnam when we pulled out. There is a fellow who specializes in selling them. He is in Welford Sc , his name is Bill Crews. He has a bunch listed.There is a small airport near me that housed one. It flew everyday checking for Wright Whales off the coast here so as to warn ships to avoid them. The company lost their grant money and I think the plane is in Wilmington NC now.
… In some sense it is one of the safest twins to fly because there is no adverse yaw if one of the engines goes out on take off.
If I’m not going to start flying again now that I’m newly retired, when am I going to do it, when I’m 10 years retired?
Last time I was current was 20 years ago, but 20 or 25 hours of in type instruction should get me to feeling comfortable again (if only in VFR conditions to start)
Yes regular twins are basically a death sentence upon one engine failure at takeoff or landing. The other old saw is that a twin engine plane gets you to the crash site quicker.
BTW you were close on that movie title, it’s Bat 21
Ok, maybe clone was a bad word. Inspired by may have been a better way to say it…
found this quote:
I wonder how heavy a plane can get before it can no longer be a float plane?
I would like to see a flying boat make a comeback… I wonder what a Catalina Flying Boat type would be like with turbo props?
Canadian Vickers built the PBY-5A during the war. It was designated PBV-1A and called the Canso. There was preliminary work done to convert them to Rolls-Royce Dart engines (a turbo prop) but I don’t think they did.
Yea, I dont think that ever flew. I guess the Boeing Clipper was the largest flying boat to actually go into service.
Twin Otter is a fantastic airplane. The Cessna is not aiming at the same rough-field operations.
This is a purpose-built flying box, a specific tool for a specific job. Fedex wrote the top-level requirements.
I am delighted to see actual new airplane designs being designed and built. This is quite rare in the world today.