Maintaining Cessna’s New SkyCatcher

By designing ease of maintenance into the SkyCatcher, Cessna is taking strides to ensure its new light sport aircraft (LSA) will make flying more affordable.

When Cessna Chairman, President & CEO Jack Pelton made the official announcement in 2007 that the company would enter the fledgling light sport aircraft (LSA) market, he said that after extensive market research, "it is clear to us there is a great need for this aircraft as we strive to drive down the cost of flying and learning to fly. We believe this aircraft will make a major contribution to stimulating new pilot starts and will encourage already-licensed pilots to continue to fly because it is more affordable."

From the day the Cessna 162 SkyCatcher was born, "more affordable" has been a key mantra for its design, development and production. "We obviously developed this as an entry-level training airplane and have tried to get as much expense out of it as possible," explains Tim Fisher, Cessna’s customer service engineering specialist on the Skycatcher project. "We really want to stimulate flight training businesses and promote recreational flying. That’s really the point for the whole program being started."

According to Cessna, a new SkyCatcher currently lists for less than half of a typically equipped Skyhawk. That alone will enable schools to lower their per-hour prices. But, with decades of experience as the largest supplier of piston engine training aircraft in the world, the company knew that a lower purchase price was not enough to bring the cost of flight training back down to earth. They had to reduce the SkyCatcher’s cost of ownership. And one key place to start is by reducing the aircraft’s ongoing maintenance costs.

Built Strong to Last Long

"There seems to be a perception in the field that LSAs are rather fragile and may not be suitable as a flight training airplane," Fisher says. "I believe that this airplane has been and will continue to be tested probably more than any competitive light sport aircraft. It’s been flight tested well beyond anything required by ASTM [American Society for Testing and Materials]."

"We are doing a lot of extra testing and hope to prove we have developed an airplane that is durable enough for the flight training environment," he continues. "Our program will include full fatigue testing on a 162 airframe after the first SkyCatchers are delivered."

While the aircraft will be tested to Cessna’s high standards, ensuring the durability and maintainability of the SkyCatcher airframe started when its designers first put their drafting pencils to paper.

They started by looking at all they’ve learned during the design, production and support of the nearly 190,000 airplanes Cessna has delivered in its 82-year history. "Basically, we’ve tried to utilize, wherever possible, tried-and-true technologies that have been on our airplanes for decades," Fisher says. "To start with, we’ve incorporated traditional sheet metal construction."

Fisher explains that while the SkyCatcher is similar to any other high-wing Cessna, there are some key differences in its metal airframe — one is the company’s need to minimize weight. To make sure the new airplane meets the maximum gross takeoff weight of 1,320 lbs required under LSA rules, while ensuring strength, Fisher says that the 162 uses thinner sheet metal in some areas and a few more formed aluminum components than Cessna typically has employed on single-engine aircraft.

By forming aluminum components, engineers can design metal airframe components that are stronger, lighter and more rigid than those created through standard sheet metal assembly processes. This not only results in stronger, lighter parts, but also a reduction in part count, which saves money in production and out on the assembly line.

Fisher says that while there are differences under the skin, the 162 Skycatcher would look like a "typical Cessna" to a flight school’s maintenance technician. "It’s going to see a lot of cycles," he adds. "We want the airplane to be easy to repair and fit well within our existing service network and with technicians who are already familiar with our airplanes."

Another way Cessna is helping control maintenance costs is by using familiar components and systems in the SkyCatcher. The "bulletproof" Continental O-200D, 100-horsepower carbureted engine will power the aircraft. The engine will be turning a fixed-pitch, composite propeller. "It’s a derivative of the well-known O-200A and very easy to maintain," Fisher says. "For avionics, we are using the Garmin G300. All of our service facilities are familiar with the G1000 platform in the single-engine line, so it will fit easily into their maintenance operation." In keeping with the LSA rules, the 162 will be capable of day VFR operations and will be standard equipped for night.

Easy Mx from the Ground Up

While the SkyCatcher’s airframe is designed to take what student pilots can dish out and keep coming back for more, the aircraft’s designers and supporters know that maintenance will be required. And the more steps they can take to minimize time in the maintenance hangar, the better.

Fisher explains that from a serviceability perspective, Cessna’s service and maintenance teams have been involved with this program from shortly after the introduction of the POC (proof of concept) airplane.

As he stated earlier, they were somewhat limited in what they could do by the LSA’s weight limitations.

"Wherever possible we have tried to implement everything we’ve learned from past experiences into this new design," he says. "We have evaluated service and maintainability from the selection of various components and systems to where they are located on the airplane. Items that we anticipate may be high service items, we put our input in as far as accessibility and how to reduce downtime for repairs and inspections."

"In the end it really helps our customers and the service technician that is working on the airplane," he adds. "Anything we can do to reduce the direct operating costs to the customer is obviously what we are after."

While the SkyCatcher will seem very familiar to any technician who has seen a 172 with its access panels off, Fisher said the fact that this is an LSA means that there will be some differences in how inspections and maintenance tasks will be performed — or more accurately, the guidelines by which technicians maintain the 162.

"In the LSA world, all the inspections are done per the manufacturer’s procedures and not necessarily to FAR Part 43. Appendix D," Fisher says. "The inspections themselves won’t be significantly different from a traditional annual or 100-hour inspection. However, the way we lay out the inspection program will be somewhat different."

"We’ve enlisted the help of our maintenance engineering group and they have helped put together a task-based inspection program," he continues. "It will include detailed task descriptions and zonal type inspection techniques, which will help improve the accuracy and efficiency of the inspection as well as making it easier for the technician."

Fisher said that the task-based, zonal inspections are a bit of a change from the traditional inspection methods found on other single-engine Cessnas. Instead of having a generic list of specific items to check line-by-line during an inspection, zonal inspection techniques combine items that are all in the same general location of the airplane.

"Say you are looking in an area in the fuselage," he explains. "You look at all the cables that are running through the area. You look at all the plumbing in the area. You look at all the structure in the area. You are doing all that as essentially one item on the inspection checklist. It’s easier and more efficient for the technicians to perform operationally."

New Rules to Work By

Fisher also points out that the zonal inspections aren’t the only new procedures and processes technicians may encounter with the SkyCatcher. Under ASTM’s LSA rules, there are some changes related to repairmen with maintenance ratings and some of the information ASTM will require for the 162’s maintenance manuals.

"ASTM requires all tasks in the maintenance manuals needed to repair and inspect the airplane to identify the maintenance type — line or heavy maintenance — who can perform the task and any special tools or training required," Fisher says. "It will indicate whether it is considered line maintenance for a repairman to perform or if it is heavy maintenance for an A&P or repair station to perform. The format of the manual may be a little different from what a traditional Cessna manual looks like."

Another ‘rules’ change pertains to who can do what type of service or maintenance on the Skycatcher LSA. "We are getting asked questions from people asking how much is Cessna going to allow repairmen to perform maintenance on the airplane," Fisher says. (The FARs and ASTM rules allow a repairman with a maintenance rating to perform line maintenance on the airplane.) "It’s up to the OEM to basically dictate who can do what — whether it’s a repairmen or an A&P or some specialized entity to perform a given task."

"At this point we’re still developing all of the tasks and completing the inspection program," he continues. "Once we get a fairly complete list of all the tasks that will be in the manual to inspect and repair the airplane, we will go through each task and determine what is appropriate for a repairman to perform. We believe most Cessna 162 owners will have their aircraft maintained by repair stations and A&Ps."

Another new LSA rule Fisher mentions is that an A&P, and possibly a repairman, can perform annuals, if the manufacturer allows it. Also, major repairs and alterations can be done and approved for return to service by an A&P, and not necessarily an IA.

Speaking of alterations, Fisher said that field modifications or equipment additions in LSAs typically follow the manufacturer’s approval basis for approvals to install it in the airplane. "You’re not dealing with the same rules as a type-certified airplane with installation of STCs — as they will not be done on LSAs," he says. "FAA 337 field approvals, STCs and PMA equivalent parts don’t exist for ASTM compliant products like LSAs. Changes to the aircraft are kind of different in the LSA world."

SkyCatcher Training

Another important part of helping minimize maintenance costs and downtime is to have Cessna Service Network technicians and those employed by flight schools trained and ready for the SkyCatchers from day one.

"We are developing a complete computer-based training program primarily geared to our service station network and larger customers," Fisher says. "It will basically cover the entire airplane from construction through the systems and a high level of troubleshooting. That’s pretty much what we do for all of our new programs."

"Once the airplane is delivered, our facilities are prepared to support it when the first customer needs service," he adds. "And that goes for providing spare parts. We plan to have all common spares identified and available to support our first new SkyCatcher owner." While meeting Cessna’s commitment to lowering the cost of buying, owning and flying an airplane is the foundation of that strong commitment to service, Fisher notes that there is another driving factor: introducing lots of new pilots and potential owners to the Cessna aircraft family.

"New customers may not be familiar with our products at the entry-level," he says. "If we make sure they are satisfied with the product and service they receive, they will be much more motivated to purchase our products as they move up in aircraft."