Cessna 208 Caravan

The Cessna 208 prototype first flew on December 9th, 1982. Intended to give Cessna a large portion of the bush plane market by replacing the established piston engine types, it featured three abreast cabin seating, a horizontally-divided port side cargo door, and three further access doors.

The Cessna 208 has a spacious square-section fuselage and fixed tricycle undercarriage. A specially developed cargo version, the Model 208A Cargomaster, was developed to fill a large order by Federal Express. This was a dedicated freight aircraft, with no cabin windows, one less door, and an under-fuselage pannier for additional loads. FedEx was sufficiently impressed that they ordered a lengthened 208B Super Cargomaster. From this, Cessna developed the Model 208B Grand Caravan, with the longer fuselage, and a cabin adaptable to carry 14 passengers, or freight. In the same year, 1986, a military version, the U-27, was also produced. Cessna's top-of-the-line Grand Caravan lives up to its grand name. Thanks to a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-114A engine and three-blade prop, it carries 100 cubic feet and 500 pounds more useful load than the Caravan 675. For nearly 1,050 statue miles. And even with all the available seating, the Grand Caravan can change roles quickly by converting to a cargo hauler in less than half an hour, doubling its duty. This aircraft is suitable for civil or military duties. The large rear-loading door is suited for use in a variety of roles such as passenger, freight, vehicle or troop transport. It is also used for paratrooping, supply drops, casualty evacuation, crop dusting, air ambulance, aerial photography, geological surveys or VIP transport roles.

Cessna 208 Caravan / Grand Caravan

• TYPE: 10 seat utility transport aircraft.
• PERIOD BUILT: 1982 – current
• COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
• ENGINE: One Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-114 turboprop of 600 shp / 448 kW
• DIMENSIONS:

  • Wing span: 525 ft 1 in / 15.88 m.
  • Length: 37 ft 7 in / 11.46 m.
  • Height: 14 ft 2 in / 4.42 m.
• WEIGHTS:

  • Empty: 3,800 lb / 1724 kg
  • Max. takeoff: 7,300 lb / 3311 kg
• PERFORMANCE:
  • Max. cruising speed: 212 mph / 341 kph
  • Max. rate of climb: 1,050 ft / 320 m. per min. a.s.l.
  • Max. operating altitude: 27,600 ft / 8410 m.
  • Range: 1,578 mls./ 2539 km.
• CAPACITY:
  • Seats 10 passengers
  • Up to a 3000 pound / 1361 kg payload
  • The 208B Super Cargomaster can carry 3,500 pounds / 1587 kg of freight; the Grand Caravan seats 14 passengers.
  • The cabin dimensions of 18ft 7.5" (5.68 m) long, 6ft 6" (1.99 in height, 6ft 6" (1.99 m) wide and 6ft 2" (1.88 m) wide allow for the transport of vehicles or large mining equipment or similar cargo.

Visit either the Sansa Airines / Skyward Aviation / or Air Tindi pages to learn more about the Cessna 208 Caravan.