The Cessna 408 SkyCourier is an American

utility aircraft A utility aircraft is a general-purpose light airplane or helicopter, usually used for transporting people, freight or other supplies, but is also used for other duties when more specialized aircraft are not required or available. The term can a ...

designed and built by

Textron Aviation Textron Aviation Inc. is the general aviation business unit of the conglomerate Textron that was formed in March 2014 following the acquisition of Beech Holdings which included the Beechcraft and Hawker Aircraft businesses. The new business uni ...

. It was launched on November 28, 2017 with an order for 50 from

FedEx Express FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation, is a major American cargo airline based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. As of 2020, it is one of the world's largest airlines in terms of fleet size and freight tons flown. It is the na ...

. It made its first flight on May 17, 2020, and was

type certified A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). It confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production, is in compliance with applica ...

on March 11, 2022.

FedEx FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...

took delivery of the first production model on May 9, 2022. The SkyCourier is a twin-

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. ...

, high-wing aircraft, available with a 19-passenger accommodation, or in a cargo variant sized for three

LD3 A unit load device (ULD) is a container used to load luggage, freight, and mail on wide-body aircraft and specific narrow-body aircraft. It allows preloading of cargo, confidence the containerised load will fit in the aircraft and efficient plann ...

s. The non-

pressurized {{Wiktionary Pressurization or pressurisation is the application of pressure in a given situation or environment. Industrial Industrial equipment is often maintained at pressures above or below atmospheric. Atmospheric This is the process b ...

design is built from

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

and is equipped with

Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 is a turboprop aircraft engine produced by Pratt & Whitney Canada. Its design was started in 1958, it first ran in February 1960, first flew on 30 May 1961, entered service in 1964 and has been continuously upda ...

engines and fixed

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Mart ...

. The

MTOW The maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) or maximum gross takeoff weight (MGTOW) or maximum takeoff mass (MTOM) of an aircraft is the maximum weight at which the pilot is allowed to attempt to take off, due to structural or other limits. The analogous ...

airplane can cruise up to , with a range of with 19 passengers.

Development

The Model 408 was launched on November 28, 2017 by

, with an introduction planned for 2020. The 408's design was developed to match

requirements, like the earlier

Cessna 208 Caravan The Cessna 208 Caravan is a utility aircraft produced by Cessna. The project was commenced on November 20, 1981, and the prototype first flew on December 9, 1982. The production model was certified by the FAA in October 1984 and its Cargo ...

. FedEx Express will be the launch customer, with an order of "50 cargo aircraft and options for 50 more". Its unit cost then was $5.5 million. Initial

wind tunnel Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...

tests were completed in March 2018. The

first flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alw ...

was originally planned for 2019 and first deliveries anticipated in 2020. The design will be certified to

FAR Part 23 The Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) are rules prescribed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) governing all aviation activities in the United States. The FARs comprise Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). A wide variety o ...

standards. FedEx initially planned to take monthly deliveries over four years starting in 2020, and a similar pace for a second batch, if it agrees to that option. A full-scale

mockup 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 ...

of the 19-passenger cabin was displayed at the October 2018 National Business Aviation Association convention. The mating of the wing and fuselage of the first aircraft was completed in December 2019. By March 2020, initial ground testing was completed, checking the fuel system, engines, avionics interfaces and electrical systems. The first flight was completed on May 17, 2020, operating from

Beech Factory Airport Beech Factory Airport is a public use airport located five nautical miles (9 km) east of the central business district of Wichita, a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States. It is privately owned by Beechcraft. Facilities and air ...

for a 2-hour and 15-minute flight. The prototype aircraft, along with five additional flight and ground test articles, will be used for testing leading to certification. The second prototype first flew in August 2020. It is the first production-conforming aircraft and will be used for testing the engines, propellers, environmental controls and the

avionics Avionics (a blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the hundreds of systems that are fit ...

. A third test aircraft first flew in September 2020. In 2021, its equipped price was $6.85M for the freighter and $7.375M for the passenger version. In April 2021 the company anticipated that certification would be completed by year's end and initial deliveries would occur in spring/summer 2022. The SkyCourier made its first public appearance at the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh in 2021. By early 2022, the three test aircraft had accumulated over 2,100 flight hours as the first production aircraft for FedEx was rolled out on February 3, 2022. Cessna was aiming for certification in the first half of the year before first delivery later in 2022.

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 ...

type certification was granted on March 11, 2022, after 2,100 hours of flight tests. The first production aircraft was delivered to FedEx Express in May 2022.

Design

The SkyCourier is a twin-

, high-wing,

. It will be available in a 19-passenger variant with large cabin windows and separate crew and passenger doors, or in a cargo variant sized for three

s and of payload, featuring a "large cargo door and a flat floor cabin". It will cruise up to , with a maximum range of .

Single-point refueling Aviation fuels are petroleum-based fuels, or petroleum and synthetic fuel blends, used to power aircraft. They have more stringent requirements than fuels used for ground use, such as heating and road transport, and contain additives to enhance ...

will speed turnarounds. The clean-sheet design should offer better cabin flexibility and payload capability, superior performance and lower operating costs than its competitors. The

airframe The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system. Airframe design is a field of aerospa ...

will be built from traditional

materials and will be equipped with proven

-65 engines, fixed

and

Garmin G1000 The Garmin G1000 is an electronic flight instrument system (EFIS) typically composed of two display units, one serving as a primary flight display, and one as a multi-function display. Manufactured by Garmin Aviation, it serves as a replaceme ...

avionics. The non-

cabin will be tall and wide, with a flat floor and a cargo door.

Operators

- 50 on order, one delivered as of July 2022 * Aerus - two on order as of December 2022

Specifications

References

External links