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record with its advantages in operations,
warranty and maintenance. It was
chosen because it was reported to have
a greater mean-time-between-overhaul
period than other engines considered,
and it demonstrated a lower operating
cost. With a 100 hp Continental, the
SkyCatcher will cruise at 118 kts with
wheel pants at a maximum gross
weight of 1320 lbs, including 25 gallons
of 100LL, giving it a maximum
range of 470 nautical miles.
During the Q&A session, one
reporter asked if Cessna was considering
the use of auto fuel. Pelton
responded that they are “exploring”
the use of car gas.
SkyCatcher is aluminum and meets
ASTM standard F2245 for light sport
aircraft, has tricycle landing gear with a
castering nose wheel, and standard dual
toe-actuated disc brakes.
Instrumentation includes a Garmin
300 glass cockpit, which is currently
under development. The G-300 is a
VFR GPS with a split screen to include
both flight and engine instruments
along with a comm radio. An autopilot
is included as standard equipment, and
the aircraft has dual “stick-like” flight
controls with electric trim. The stick
operates the elevator in the standard
forward and aft movement, and the
aileron movement is accomplished by
sliding/pushing the stick to the right or
left for banking/ turning. Moving the
stick seemed a little different at first,
but should be easily picked up.
The doors open up as opposed to
fold forward and easily clear the wing
strut, which is well aft of the door,
unlike the Cessna 150 and 152. One
real impressive feature on the
SkyCatcher was the roomy cabin,
which reputably matches that of a
Cessna 206. It was quite easy to step
in and out of for my height of about
70 inches. Having just flown a Cessna
152 a couple days prior, sitting in this
new cockpit was pretty spacious and
comfortable. The adjustable rudder
pedals makes it fit all shapes and
sizes of people, and its large windows
make for superb visibility.
The $109,500 price tag is an introductory
offer for the first 1,000 orders
and then it will be increased to
$111,500. Orders were being taken at
Oshkosh and I’d heard by the second
day at AirVenture, Cessna had taken
orders for over 400 SkyCatchers. The
first flight of the new C-162 is set for
the first half of 2008 and deliveries
are expected to begin in 2009.
Having learned to fly in a C-150 in
the early '60s and currently still flying a
C-152 in the University of Wisconsin
Flying Club in Madison, the new
C-162 will be a quantum leap in the
Cessna training aircraft line. It will be a
pleasure to fly using new technology in
a proven design.
There are quite a few new light
sport aircraft coming on line and a
good number of them were at
AirVenture this year, which ran from
quite simple/basic designs with price
tags under $10,000 and on up. But the
unveiling of SkyCatcher shows
Cessna’s commitment to providing
the world with a viable, safe, technologically
advanced LSA as they are
notably the world’s largest manufacturer
of general aviation aircraft.
The global fleet of almost 5,000
Citation jets is the largest fleet of
business jets in the world. But we all
know that the pilots flying them had
to learn in something a bit smaller.
Cessna has never forgotten that and
the new SkyCatcher can also be used
as a primary trainer for those pilots
who may be flying Cessna Citations
in the future.
These are exciting times for aviation
and the advent of light sport aircraft
has gone a long way to revitalize
all our enthusiasm for our beloved
passion for flight. Thank you EAA for
being the tireless leader to get this
movement going, and the vision and
spirit to see it through.
❑
Cessna SkyCatcher Light Sport Aircraft
Orders Top $75 Million
WICHITA, KAN. – Cessna Aircraft
Company, a Textron Inc. company,
announced August 9 th that orders for
its newly announced SkyCatcher light
sport aircraft (LSA) has reached 720,
totaling more than $75 Million, only
two weeks after its official launch at
the Experimental Aircraft
Association’s annual fly-in convention,
AirVenture 2007.
“It has been very exciting to see
the overwhelmingly positive response
from our customers on the
SkyCatcher, and the affirmative reaction
to this offering reflects the overall
continuing strength in the general
aviation market around the globe,”
said Jack. J. Pelton, Cessna chairman,
president and CEO.
Cessna originally announced it
was studying an LSA entry at the 2006
AirVenture in Oshkosh, unveiling a
proof-of-concept aircraft to gauge mar-
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