The Cessna Next Generation Propeller Aircraft (NGP) was a proof-of-concept design for a future family of single

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...

, fixed-gear, high

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...

wing, light aircraft intended for personal, flight training and commercial use. The single flying prototype, registered N99110, was flight tested by Cessna, and first seen publicly in flight on 24 July 2006 at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.

Nomenclature

The aircraft was originally introduced as the "Next Generation Piston", but starting in April 2008 Cessna began referring to it as the "Next Generation Propeller" aircraft instead. After absorbing the recently purchased Columbia Aircraft line, now known as the Cessna 350 and Cessna 400, Cessna indicated that it was re-positioning the NGP to fit logically into its current aircraft fleet. "Our team is working on finalizing the configuration," said Van Abel, Cessna's project engineer for the NGP in April 2008. “We continue to evaluate features and materials that will produce a new, unique aircraft family with a potential for multiple powerplants.” This indicates that the aircraft may become turbine or diesel powered so as not to conflict with sales of the 350 and 400.

Design and development

Very little information was made public about the aircraft since development began sometime in early 2005. Cessna confirmed that the NGP was designed specifically to compete with other, newer aircraft. Due to its intended role as competition for the

Cirrus SR22 The Cirrus SR22 is a single-engine four- or five-seat composite aircraft built from 2001 by Cirrus Aircraft of Duluth, Minnesota. It is a development of the Cirrus SR20, with a larger wing, higher fuel capacity, and a more powerful, 310-horsepo ...

, it was frequently referred to in the aviation press as the "Cirrus Killer". The NGP

mock-up In manufacturing and design, a mockup, or mock-up, is a scale or full-size model of a design or device, used for teaching, demonstration, design evaluation, promotion, and other purposes. A mockup may be a ''prototype'' if it provides at lea ...

displayed at AOPA Air Expo 2006, in Palm Springs, California, had five seats. The aircraft was, at that time, intended be powered by a Lycoming IO-580 FADEC engine controlled by a single power lever. The design mock-up had four doors with a separate baggage door on the left side,

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...

with a

caster A caster (or castor) is an undriven wheel that is designed to be attached to the bottom of a larger object (the "vehicle") to enable that object to be moved. Casters are used in numerous applications, including shopping carts, office chairs, ...

ing nose wheel and a forward-swept high-mounted wing of relatively small area. Reportedly the prototype accumulated more than 20 hours of flying time between its first flight on 23 June 2006 and the fly-by at Oshkosh on 24 July 2006. During its appearance at AirVenture it was fully painted in a factory-style paint scheme and sported wheelpants. The structure was made from

composite material A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or ...

s and

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, optimizing the available technology. Cessna President and CEO Jack Pelton confirmed at AirVenture 2006 that the NGP was intended at that time to be the first of a new family of Cessna singles that would, in the long term, replace the

Cessna 172 The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company.182 Year 182 ( CLXXXII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sura and Rufus (or, less frequently, year 935 ''Ab urbe condita'') ...

in production. Pelton also confirmed that while the prototype flew with a Lycoming powerplant, Cessna was examining alternative new technology engines as well. The prototype was exhibited at the April 2007 Sun 'n Fun general aviation event held at

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal ci ...

. On 27 November 2007, Cessna purchased Columbia Aircraft from bankruptcy for US$26.4M including its Columbia 350 and 400 line, which are in the same size and performance class as the NGP. These were introduced into the Cessna line as the Cessna 350 and Cessna 400 and initially built at former Columbia factory in Bend, Oregon. In 2009, Cessna closed the Bend plant and moved production to Wichita. The introduction of the similar Columbia designs caused media speculation that this would spell the end of the NGP project, but on September 26, 2007, Cessna Vice President for Sales, Roger Whyte confirmed that development of the Cessna NGP project was continuing, regardless of the purchase of Columbia. In January 2009, Cessna CEO Jack Pelton gave an update on current Cessna projects under development and mentioned the 162 SkyCatcher,

Cessna Citation Columbus The Cessna Citation Columbus was a business jet project by Cessna, part of the Cessna Citation family. The Model 850 was launched in February 2008 and cancelled in July 2009. It would have been the largest model of the family at the time. Pow ...

and the Citation CJ4. No mention of the NGP project was made and the project's webpage was deleted. On 30 March 2011, at Sun 'n Fun Cessna President Jack Pelton was interviewed by Paul Bertorelli of ''AvWeb'' about the NGP project and he indicated that it was "inactive but not mothballed" at that time, awaiting the right engine and avionics combination. By August 2011, the prototype was no longer on the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

registry.

Specifications

Citations

References

Avweb article on the NGPCirrus SR22 performance parametersCirrus SR22 pricing information
* Benenson, Tom, (Editor), Flying Magazine, Oct 2006, pg 21, ''NGP Means "Next Generation Piston"''
Cessna press release announcing the NGP
- accessed 16 October 2006

External links