Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

Textron Aviation took the wraps off a new utility twin aircraft that will become the largest in its growing in-production turboprop lineup. At the same time, the manufacturer announced its first customer, FedEx Express, with an order for up to 100 in hand. A long-time customer of Textron Aviation’s Cessna Caravan, FedEx yesterday formally signed a contract for 50 cargo variants of the new Cessna SkyCourier 408 and options for up to 50 more. Including options, the order carries a potential value of up to $550 million, based on the $5.5 million list price.

 


Plans call for delivery of the aircraft to begin to FedEx in 2020 and continue at a pace of one per month over more than a four-year period for the firm orders. The SkyCouriers will help FedEx replenish its fleet of existing turboprops, including some older Caravans and ATRs.

 


While building on the heritage of the Caravan, the new high-wing SkyCourier is a new design, said Textron Aviation. “The aircraft will fulfill a gap in this market segment with its superior performance and low operating costs in combination with the cabin flexibility, payload capability and efficiency only a clean-sheet design can offer,” said Textron Aviation president and CEO Scott Ernest.

 


The SkyCourier is designed as a “workhorse,” added Scott Donnelly, chairman and CEO of Textron Aviation parent company Textron. “No one is looking for fancy here...It needs to have reliability, durability. This is all about utility and our ability to get to market quickly with an economic solution, both in terms of acquisition and what it would cost to operate.”

 


The aircraft will be equipped with proven components already in production, such as the -65 variant of Pratt &amp; Whitney Canada’s PT6A turboprop engines and Garmin G1000 avionics, and will be built from traditional aluminum materials. “We tried to keep the airplane remarkably simple so it has the highest possible dispatch reliability construction,” said Brad Thress, senior vice president, engineering for Textron Aviation.

 


Thress said the innovation surrounding the design involves its ability to accommodate heavy cargo demands. Key features include a large, 87-inch cargo door and a flat floor; a nearly 70-inch almost “square” tall and wide cabin that can accommodate up to three LD3 shipping containers; and a maximum payload of 6,000 pounds. In addition, the aircraft will be designed for single-point pressure refueling to speed turnaround time.

 


FedEx, which has operated Caravans for more than 30 years, had worked with Cessna over the past seven months, Thress said, “to co-develop this product into what it needs to be to be successful in its service. The innovation is supporting their logistics, so they can load and unload the airplane quickly.”

 


“FedEx Express has had a great relationship with Textron Aviation over the years, and this new, advanced aircraft will play a key role in our feeder aircraft modernization strategy,” said David Cunningham, president and CEO of FedEx Express.

 


The aircraft, which also can be laid out in a 19-passenger configuration, will be capable of flying up to 900 nm and as fast as 200 ktas. The passenger variant will include crew and passenger doors, along with large cabin windows.

 


“We obviously do a fair amount of activity with the Caravan in the passenger version…There’s always been additional demand for a larger passenger carrier aircraft,” said Ernest, adding the demand is worldwide, but especially in developing nations.

 


But beyond FedEx, Textron Aviation also sees other opportunities in a growing cargo market, as well as for special missions.

 


The company had contemplated on and off for years a larger version of the Caravan, Donnelly added. “This is a logical thing for us to do. We have a great track record with the Caravan. It’s a logical place for us to be.”

 


Plans call for wind tunnel tests to begin in February, with test articles starting “to flow” later in 2018 as the program heads toward first flight in 2019. The non-pressurized, fixed-gear airplane will be certified to Part 23 standards. Ernest said the company opted for the venerable PT6A platform—rather than the GE ATP that is powering the company’s all-new Cessna Denali—because of the timing of the program and availability of the engine.

 


View a <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/photos/business-aviation/2017-11-28/cessa-skycourier">slideshow</a> of SkyCourier images.

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

Textron Launches Cessna SkyCourier with 100-Plane Deal

The new twin-engine aircraft will be the largest in the Textron Aviation turboprop lineup.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Trump calls for a ban on Bombardier products

Amid Trade War, Trump Takes Aim at Bombardier Once More

Charlotte Bailey

News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

ATR 72 aircraft performs pre-modification flight in Toulouse

Kepplair Starts Converting ATR 72 Into Water Bombers

Curt Epstein

Only the piston aircraft segment posted a decline

GAMA: Bizjets, T-props, and Rotorcraft Deliveries Up

Hanneke Weitering

Two captains held the prototype 33 feet above the water for 30 seconds

Regent Flies Electric Seaglider with Crew for First Time

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

Icing approval would open year-round service to northern communities

Horizon Begins Icing Tests for Cavorite X7 eVTOL

Deal to close this year

Bombardier To Grow Manufacturing Capacity with MHICA Buy

David Donald

Essential news and analysis on the defense aerospace business. Your trusted source for new and ongoing programs and requirements in military aircraft (manned and unmanned), engines, avionics, weapons and associated systems, including ground-based air defense.

The two NATO allies will purchase seven of the tanker/transport aircraft

Spain and Poland Agree to Buy A330MRTT Tanker Transports

News and developments about aircraft engines, including turbofan, turboprop, turboshaft and piston.

News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

More In Aircraft