Textron Aviation has completed a 57,000-square-foot expansion of its flight test hangar on its East Wichita Campus, adding six bays to support work on the Cessna SkyCourier and Beechcraft Denali. According to Textron Aviation, the additional space will be used for flight test operations as the company continues entry-into-service and development work across its turboprop lineup.
“As demand for the Cessna SkyCourier continues to grow across commercial, cargo and special missions markets, it’s critical that our facilities and teams are positioned to support that momentum,” Lannie O’Bannion, senior vice president of sales and marketing, said. “By investing in additional flight test capacity, we are strengthening our ability to efficiently support development today and as demand continues to expand.”
The SkyCourier is offered in passenger and freighter versions, with the freighter designed to carry up to three LD3 containers and a 6,000-pound payload. The 19-passenger version includes large cabin windows, and both variants use Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65SC engines, McCauley C779 propellers and Garmin G1000 NXi avionics. Textron Aviation said the aircraft has a maximum cruise speed of more than 200 ktas and a maximum range of 900 nautical miles.
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