Cessna has upgraded the standard production interior of its Caravan single-engined turboprop to mark the 30thanniversary of the high-wing, multi-mission aircraft.
The revamped cabin will feature redesigned seats that are 5% lighter and more ergonomic than the previous installations. The interior will also include a durable lightweight headliner and a new lower sidewall. Fabric lower sidewalls, carpet flooring and headrests will also be offered as an option.
Cessna has supplied nearly 2,500 Caravans since the first model was delivered on 25 February 1985. The fleet has so far notched up 13 million flight hours with owners and operators in 100 countries, the US airframer says, and the company currently manufacturers four versions of the Pratt & Whitney CanadaPT6A-powered aircraft.
Earlier this month EASA became the tenth authority to approve the 14-seat version of its Grand Caravan EX.
The high-density seating should help the manufacturer boost Caravan sales within the European passenger transportation market. Cessna and other manufacturers of single-turbine aircraft are eagerly awaiting EASA’s final rulemaking on the operation of commercial single-engined turbine aircraft in instrument meteorological conditions. The agency expects to publish its “final opinion” in the third quarter for rulemaking by the European Commission in 2016.
Meanwhile, Cessna’s Citation M2 twin-engined light business jet has entered commercial service in Europe for the first time, following delivery of the seven-seat aircraft to London Biggin Hill-based charter and management company Catreus. Cessna secured EASA validation for the M2 in June 2014, following US certification six months earlier.
More than 60 of the 1,580nm (2,930km)-range, Williams International FJ44-1AP-21-powered M2s are in service to date.
Source: Flight International
