Skylanes and King Airs and Citations—Oh, My!
Textron—the American industrial conglomerate and parent company of the Cessna, Beechcraft, and [former] Hawker aircraft marques—will debut three new aircraft models at 2022’s AirVenture event in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
The trio of new aircraft comprises Cessna’s Citation M2 Gen2 and Turbo Skylane, as well as Beechcraft’s King Air 260. The lineup of new airplanes speaks compellingly to Textron’s comprehensive and competent spanning of general aviation’s light-utility, executive turboprop, and business jet sectors.
The company will also be displaying a special edition, 75th anniversary Beechcraft Bonanza G36 resplendent in a custom interior and paint scheme inspired by Olive Ann Beech’s signature blue color.
Two Pipistrel aircraft—the Pipistrel Panthera and Pipistrel Velis—will also be among Textron’s static displays. Pipistrel, which was acquired by Textron in April 2022, was purchased as a manufacturer of electric aircraft, despite the company's occasionally poor record with US customers and distributors.
Textron’s new models represent evolutions of well-established, highly-regarded aircraft families. The worldwide fleet of Cessna Citation jets numbers north of eight-thousand, and ranges in size and capability from the five-passenger Citation I—which traversed a maximum range of 1,328-nautical-miles at a leisurely 357-knots (Mach 0.7); to the Citation X+—which rips across 3,460-nautical-miles at a blistering 536-knots (Mach 0.935).
Beechcraft’s King Air family has long held the title of the world’s most popular executive turboprop—outselling all of its turboprop competitors combined. To date, over 3,100 King Air and Super King Airs across models as prosaically utilitarian as the C-90 and spectacularly stately as the newest 260 and 360 models have stalwartly served and largely defined aviation’s middle ground.
Cessna’s 182 Skylane is a four-place, single-reciprocating-engine airplane that’s been flying in both fixed, and retractable undercarriage iterations since 156. The global Skylane fleet numbers over 23,000 airplanes. Only Cessna’s storied—and less capable—172 Skyhawk has sold more briskly.
In addition to the new airplanes on offer, McCauley—another Textron subsidiary—will be showcasing its new composite, 5-blade propeller for the Beechcraft Denali, along with its new 4-blade propeller for the Beechcraft King Air B300 series.
Based in Providence, Rhode Island, Textron is a $12.4-billion, multi-industry titan of a company employing upwards of 33,000 individuals over divisions as diverse as Arctic Cat, the snowmobile manufacturer; Bell Textron, the helicopter concern; and Textron Aviation, under which Cessna, Beechcraft, Pipistrel, and Hawker [maintenance and part support] are organized.
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