Everyone interested in Light-Sport Aircraft is aware of Cessna’s loss of prototype #1 when it entered an “unrecoverable spin.” After Cirrus Design announced a slowdown in the development of their SRS, people have been wondering if Cessna would alter their plans for Skycatcher. Short answer: No. All is proceeding according to schedule. *** At AOPA Expo 2008, the Wichita giant reported that the now-lost Skycatcher prototype accumulated 220 hours in flight testing. Cessna will enlist their first production model to complete these primary evaluations. A third Skycatcher airframe will undergo various static tests. *** The company remains dedicated to ASTM standards. However, as general aviation’s leading producer, Cessna prefers to go beyond industry consensus standards so they also plan ground vibration tests (which can check for flutter) and airframe fatigue testing. Both employ elaborate test equipment to evaluate an airframe’s integrity and response to repeated in-flight loads.

Through the years of design development, few expected Cessna would delay their release of the Skycatcher. Any naysayers were wrong. *** At several meetings with Cessna leaders at Oshkosh 2009, I consistently heard that a small number of Skycatchers would be built in 2009, which means the big producer is right on schedule. Even with the global aviation turmoil that also engulfed the company (employment is off more than 50% at present), Cessna is staying the course with their LSA entry. *** Notably, Skycatcher serial number one will go to Rose Pelton, the charming wife of Cessna President, CEO, and Chairman, Jack Pelton. As LAMA founder Larry Burke and I visited with Rose during AirVenture, she expressed great enthusiasm about pursuing her Sport Pilot certificate once the new bird arrives. *** Top management persons such as Piston Aircraft VP, John Doman, and Communications VP, Bob Stangerone, have recently had a chance to fly the new Light-Sport Aircraft from Cessna.

It begins! The long awaited arrival of Cessna into the ranks of Special Light-Sport Aircraft has begun, with the first Shenyang-produced Skycatcher arriving in Wichita. The company reports taking more than 1,000 orders. At Oshkosh 2009, company officials said production would commence as originally planned in 2009 but that 2010 will be the year of substantial deliveries from their Chinese contract manufacturer. Soon, we’ll begin to see registered Skycatchers show up on our market share reports. *** Magazine reporters started to gain access for evaluation flights, though the first of those occurred on a slightly overweight prototype. Initial reports were positive, mirroring comments from Cessna managers who have gotten to fly the prototypes. Performance and payload are factors sure to be gauged by additional flight reviewers as production versions become available. So far, flights have occurred on the #2 prototype that was rebuilt after an incident following spin tests; that aircraft landed under parachute canopy and did not sustain major damage.

In a major ceremony the day before AirVenture Oshkosh opened, Cessna debuted a “full-scale mock-up” of the Skycatcher. And indeed it showed some fresh ideas. But first, the answers to common questions. *** Bowing to the established A&P community the Wichita giant selected a Contintental O-200 100-hp engine. Later they hope the engine will trim 25-30 pounds, an important goal as empty weight came in at 830 pounds. Price was set at $109,500 though Skycatcher comes equipped with a slim, vertically-oriented Garmin G300 PFD/MFD (a second screen is optional); offered exlusively by Cessna. Cabin width is an adequate 44.25 inches, some five inches wider than a C-150 (though less generous than many LSA). *** Innovations include an excellent joystick that routes forward so the floor is unobstructed for entry. Rudder pedals, not seats, adjust (see big black knob at lower left). The flap handle is recessed in a center console. Cessna says the yet-to-fly Skycatcher will cruise up to 118 knots for 470 nm on 24 gallons of fuel.

Cessna reported 920 orders for Skycatcher in the 10 weeks between EAA’s AirVenture and AOPA’s Expo. Curiously, FAA data for SLSA registered through September 2007 showed a slip in the pattern of steady monthly growth. Does it sound logical that Cessna’s $4.6 million of orders — the retail price value of 40 or 45 SLSA — account for this slump? Although refundable, those orders should eventually translate to more than $100 million worth of Skycatcher sales. Cessna said it expects to produce 700 a year at full production. *** Let’s compare that with the balance-of-the-industry performance. Three quarters of the way through 2007, the entire LSA industry has registered 609 airplanes. On an annualized basis this yields 812 units. So, if industry players other than Cessna can double sales in two years (a reasonably conservative estimate), Cessna would represent 30% of the total when they reach full production.

It’s rare for the Wall Street Journal to print a single word about Light-Sport Aircraft, but today’s edition has the Skycatcher at the top of the front page. Confirming earlier speculations, the Wichita airplane company has chosen to build its LSA in China. The difference from other ventures (Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier) is that Cessna will have Shenyang Aircraft build the entire airplane. Continental engines and Garmin avionics will be shipped to China *** Cessna says they can’t afford to build the Skycatcher in the U.S., quoting the CEO of Textron (Cessna’s parent) as saying Skycatcher would cost $71,000 more if built in America. Cessna is also hoping to establish a foothold in a country where private aviation is currently tiny (12,840 civilian pilots) but where the potential is large. *** Some are skeptical. State-owned companies in China are notorious for not protecting intellectual property. And, according to the president of Shenyang, his company will be the “sole source supplier of Skycatcher.” Many companies avoid single sources because it limits their options.