Waiting in the Wings
Cessna Denali
These days, the Cessna and Beech marques reside within Textron Aviation, which produces the world’s largest range of business and general aviation aircraft. There’s already a Cessna for just about every market segment, so, it was refreshing, exciting–and well, just plain interesting–to hear the company announce a completely new, single-engine turbo-prop, at EAA Airventure at Oshkosh in 2015.
It was also a bit surprising, given that the highly successful Cessna 208 Caravan has been the single-prop weight-lifting champion for 36 years.
However, the Caravan can’t do everything, and Textron Aviation clearly saw the growing sales of new generation turboprop singles, including the Pilatus PC-12 and speedy Daher TBM pressurised propjets, which like the Caravan, utilise Pratt & Whitney Canada’s PT-6A turbine engine.
To go with its clean-sheet airframe design, the Denali has a totally new General Electric Catalyst turbine engine, which according to GE, delivers a 15% improvement in specific fuel consumption efficiency.
It’s easy to forget that business aircraft owners are cost-conscious. Better powerplant efficiency means less fuel expense, better range, payload and flight performance - enough to win over even the dourest accountant.
The GE Catalyst engine will be matched with a five-blade composite reversible propeller and easily operated, single-lever FADEC engine control, which will please pilots, too.
The all-new Denali has been given the Cessna model 220 designation. Ideally equipped for single-pilot operations, the aircraft features intuitive, touch-screen, Garmin G3000 avionics. Standard equipment includes synthetic vision, TCAS I, TAWS-B,
