Global Aviator May 2018 / Vol. 10 / No. 5 41
Design and feature
The clean-sheet design should offer
better cabin flexibility and payload
capability, superior performance
and lower operating costs than its
competitors. The airframe will be
built from traditional aluminium
materials and equipped with a fixed
landing gear and Garmin G1000
avionics. The non-pressurized cabin
is 178cm tall and wide, big enough
to hold three LD-3 containers or
palletised cargoes, according to
Brad Thress, senior vice-president
of engineering for Textron Aviation.
The 221cm-wide cargo door will be
hinged at the top to open outward.
Featuring a 16.7m long fuselage
and a 21.9m wingspan, the aircraft
is roughly the same length and
payload as the Beech 1900 but with
less of the comfort and performance
qualities that made the type so
popular as a regional feeder aircraft
for passenger airlines in the 1980s.
The SkyCourier's fixed landing
gear and wing struts will limit the
top speed to about 200kt, or about
two-thirds the maximum speed
of the 1900. There are plans to
develop a 19-seat passenger version,
but the aircraft's slow speed and
unpressurised cabin could limit
its appeal to the airline market.
Wind tunnel tests began in
February 2018 and completed in
March with test articles starting “to
flow” later in 2018 as the programme
heads toward first flight in 2019. The
non-pressurized, fixed-gear airplane
will be certified to Part 23 standards.
Textron opted for the venerable
PT6A engines rather than the GE
ATP that is powering the company’s
all-new Cessna Denali because of
the timing of the programme and
availability of the engine. •Specifications
General characteristics
Capacity: 19 passengers/5,000 lb (2,268 kg)
payload (commuter) or 3×LD3s/6,000
lb (2,722 kg) payload (cargo)
Length: 54 ft 10 in (16.71 m)
Wingspan: 72 ft 0 in (21.95 m)
Height: 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m)
Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65SC
turboprop, 1,100 hp (820 kW) each
Propellers: 4-bladed McCauley
Performance
Cruise speed: 230 mph; 370 km/h (200 kn) maximum
Range: 460 mi; 741 km (400 nmi) Cargo
Range (with 5,000 lb payload)
Ferry range: 1,036 mi; 1,667 km (900 nmi)
Service ceiling: 25,000 ft (7,600 m)
Take-off Distance: 3,300 ft (1,006 m)
Pics and specs - Cessna