Denali In Certification Flight Testing

Textron's Beechcraft Denali has entered certification flight testing even as Textron makes changes on the fly to the new commuter/cargo platform. The company announced this week that it's put a total of 2,000 hours on three test articles of the big single-engine turboprop that will compete squarely against the Pilatus PC-12. It's planning for certification in 2025.

It recently completed the first ground test and in-flight certification flight of the Garmin G3000 avionics system, which is being fitted with Garmin Autoland as a standard feature. The plane is the launch customer for GE's new Catalyst turboprop, which Textron says is more efficient than other comparable engines. The 1,300-horsepower engine has a single power and prop control. The plane can be configured for passengers or cargo.