The Cessna 408 Sky Courier, a utility aircraft produced by Textron Aviation, completed its 1st flight yesterday morning. Textron Aviation is an aerospace manufacturing company created in March 2014 following the acquisition of Beechcraft and Hawker Aircraft. Cessna was also merged into Textron Aviation in the same month. The 408 Sky Courier is mainly made for short commuter flights, as it has a capacity of 19 passengers. Powered by 2 Pratt & Whitney PT6A engines, everything seems to be going alright for the aircraft, which Corey Eckhart, the man who piloted the aircraft on its 1st flight, proves: “We were very pleased with how the Cessna SkyCourier performed throughout its first flight. It was particularly impressive to see how stable the aircraft handled on takeoff and landing. The Cessna SkyCourier already displays a high level of maturity in its flight characteristics, especially for a first flight. We were able to accomplish everything we wanted on this flight, and that’s an excellent start to the flight test program.” The plane has a maximum speed of 370 km/h (230 mph) and a length 16.7 meters (54 ft). I think that this is good news for the utility aircraft market, because I get the impression that it went through this dark period during the beginning of the 21st century. Few new aircraft models were produced back then and it was the reign of small light aircraft, such as the Tecnam P2004. The 2000-2010 decade was Europe’s big moment. Now, it’s time for the USA and Asia to have their turn. 18th of May 2020.
Aeronews24 