Cessna Caravan Accumulates 10 Million Flight Hours

After 20-plus years in service, the Cessna Caravan has accumulated more than 10 million flight hours. The single-engine turboprop Caravan is used in operations such asaerial mapping and medical evacuation and is a large player in the regional freighter fleet and can be configured for up to 12 passengers. Some 1,650 Caravans have been delivered over its production history. As a testament to the airplane’s durability and reliability, the biggest Caravan customer – FedEx - has demonstrated a sustainable dispatch rate of over 99 percent. Cessna designed the Caravan for use as an outback utility aircraft in the early 1980s. Equipped with a 600 HP Pratt & Whitney PT6A-114, it was the first turbine-engine-powered, single-engine aircraft put into production by a major aircraft manufacturer. The first Caravan was delivered in 1985. In 1998, the power plant was changed to the current 675 HP PT6A-114A. Cessna now produces three versions of the Caravan, the 208 and the longer 208B which is available in passenger configuration - the Grand Caravan, and freight configuration – the Cargomaster.