Four Mk II Configurations Available
Soloy Aviation Solutions received FAA certification on October
28 for its Soloy 206 Turbine Mk II. A turbine version of the
popular piston Cessna 206H, the Rolls Royce 250-B17F/2-powered Mk
II provides an increase of 110 hp over the factory Cessna 206H,
boosting the aircraft's ability to carry more weight, fly faster
and operate in high and hot conditions.
Soloy notes the increased power, paired with the aircraft's
Hartzell three-bladed prop with full beta reverse features, makes
the Mk II the ideal STOL aircraft, especially in its amphibious
configuration.
"The Mk II is the perfect platform for vast number of
applications, from law enforcement to adventurous backcountry
operations," said Dave Stauffer, president of Soloy Aviation
Solutions. "The lighter turbine engine increases the power while
reducing the basic empty weight by approximately 150 pounds. This
allows an operator to add more equipment, such as in a law
enforcement application, or allow a pilot who might have only been
able to carry additional gear into a remote landing strip or lake
to pack in the four people and gear to high altitudes on even hot
days. No other aircraft in this class can offer that."
Soloy says the Mk II can climb at 2,460 fpm at sea level, cruise
at FL200 feet at 213 KTAS, carry 775 lbs with full fuel, and has an
approximately 550 nm-mile range. The aircraft is also quiet for a
turboprop -- registering 72.4 db when operating at take-off power
(417 hp/2030 rpm) as required by the latest regulations.
The Mk II also includes a number of upgrades to the standard 206
in response to customer requests. In refitting the aircraft for a
turbine engine, Soloy engineers increased the aircraft's electrical
capacity to 185 amps continuous, allowing the aircraft to handle
the power load of air conditioning, law enforcement equipment and
sensors, and increased pilot avionics. Additional options include
the highly coveted recessed headliner and four point restraint
harness that greatly increases pilot and co-pilot comfort.
The Mk II will be offered initially in four configurations: law
enforcement, skydiving, amphibious and commercial/private
operations.
The law enforcement configuration
includes a floor to ceiling observer window and a tactical officer
station complete with Soloy's swivel observer seat, which latches
into a forward facing position for take off, then can be swiveled
to look out the observer window once airborne. Custom installations
of instrumentation, flat panel monitors and law enforcement
equipment are available to meet customer's mission requirements and
will interface with the Soloy multi-sensor, wing-mounted camera
mount currently under development.
The skydive configuration includes a roll-up jump door, a
spoiler to reduce the harmonizing effect of the open door, hand
grips and steps... while the amphibious version offers Wipaire 3450
amphibious floats with retractable landing gear with the increased
gross weight of 3,800 pounds.
The commercial/private configuration can be completed to the
owner's specifications, including a list of cockpit avionics. A
glass panel cockpit option is under development and will be
available to retrofit the older Cessna 206H configurations with
Cessna Nav II avionics.
Soloy has started accepting orders, and currently has a half a
dozen Mk II aircraft in work and plans to deliver the first
aircraft later this month. The aircraft will be displayed at the
Rolls-Royce booth during next week's AOPA Expo 2008 in San Jose,
CA.