It looks to be a better year for most things Cessna. And that
starts with the Skycatcher program. When we interviewed Cessna's
Bob Stangarone at the 2011 Sebring US Sport Aviation Expo, the
company had reported that it had received more than 60 Skycatcher
light sport aircraft from Shenyang Aircraft Corporation -- and
better yet, in conjunction with its reassembly site at Yingling
Aviation in Wichita, KS, Cessna has delivered more than 30
Skycatchers.
Times, indeed, have changed.
The company expects to deliver 150 Skycatchers in 2011,
including the first models featuring the McCauley two-blade,
fixed-pitch composite propeller. The Skycatcher LSA program,
announced in 2007, is Cessna's much-vaunted entry in the LSA
category.
It features the Garmin G300 avionics suite and a Teledyne
Continental O200D engine. Priced at $112,250, the two-seat,
single-engine aircraft has a maximum cruise speed of 118 knots with
a maximum range at 6,000 feet of 440 nautical miles. Fabrication
and assembly is centered at Shenyang Aircraft Corporation in
Shenyang, China. Aircraft are shipped to Cessna's U.S. reassembly
site.
Designed as a low-cost flight trainer, Skycatchers have been
delivered to several Cessna Pilot Centers around the country.
Cessna Pilot Centers are independently owned and operated flight
training affiliates that offer Cessna's proprietary training
curriculum and Cessna aircraft for flight training. There are more
than 280 CPCs in the United States and around the world, providing
customers with an array of services including flight training.
The following CPCs are now using the Skycatcher in flight
training: Atlas Aviation, Tampa, FL, Bay Air Flying Service, St.
Petersburg, FL, Bob Miller Flight Training, Lancaster, NY, Downtown
Aviation, Memphis, TN, Eagle Aircraft, Valparaiso, IN, Falcon
Executive Aviation, Mesa, AZ, Kansas Aviation, Wichita, KS,
Panorama Flight Service, White Plains, NY, SkyVenture Aviation,
Fayetteville, AR, Space Coast Aviation, Merritt Island, FL, Spirit
Aviation, Thomason, GA, Suburban Aviation, Ypsilanti, MI.
On an even higher note, the Skycatcher design team was named
winner of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Piper General Aviation Award for 2010. AIAA presents the Piper
General Aviation Award annually for outstanding contributions
leading to the advancement of general aviation. The award honors
William T. Piper, Sr., who was founder and first president of Piper
Aircraft Corporation 1929-1970.