Aircraft
Textron Marks 500th Grand Caravan EX Delivery
The EX is the third variant of the successfully selling Cessna Caravan line.
Charter operator and freight hauler South Aero was the customer for the 500th Cessna Grand Caravan EX. (Photo: Textron Aviation)
Charter operator and freight hauler South Aero was the customer for the 500th Cessna Grand Caravan EX. (Photo: Textron Aviation)

The Cessna Grand Caravan EX utility turboprop single entered service more than six years ago, and Textron Aviation has delivered its 500th copy, the company announced yesterday. Certified in 2013, it is the third variant of the successful Caravan line first introduced in 1986, but with a more powerful Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-140 engine that improved its rate of climb by 38 percent over its predecessor.