Textron Aviation test pilots are busy flying the final hours in the SkyCourier 408 utility twin-turboprop certification program, so it’s difficult to pull one aside for demo flights. But recently I was invited to fly the SkyCourier “iron bird” simulator at Textron Aviation’s top-secret laboratory, which is hidden in a corner of its massive campus in Wichita. Although not a full flight simulator with motion, it nevertheless gave me a good feel for what flying the SkyCourier will be like for pilots hauling cargo and a cabin full of passengers. Plans call for certification and first delivery by the end of this year.
Test pilot Aaron Tobias briefed me on some of the details of the SkyCourier. When I saw the real airplane for the first time at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in July, I was surprised at its size—much bigger than I'd expected. But that makes sense for a twin-engine utility turboprop that can carry three standard LD3 freight containers, loaded through a massive cargo door on the left rear of the square-shaped cabin. The door measures 87 inches wide by 69 inches high. Pilots still have their own separate access to the flight deck through forward-fuselage crew entry doors. And in passenger configuration, the fuselage is fitted with windows—unlike the windowless cargo version—as well as a stairway entry under the left wing.
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