SkyCatcher coming by year-end

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Jul. 16--Cessna Aircraft will begin delivering its light sport aircraft, the SkyCatcher, to customers by the end of the year, a Cessna spokesman said this week.

According to a report in a Chinese newspaper, Shenyang Aircraft Industry Co. --which is building the Model 162 SkyCatcher -- will test-fly a model built on its assembly line sometime this year.

Cessna's Bob Stangarone confirmed the information.

"We fully expect to fly a production aircraft before the end of the year," he said. The company will also deliver some aircraft this year.

Since September 2008, two SkyCatchers in the test program have crashed during flight testing. In both cases, test pilots were performing spin test maneuvers when the accidents occurred.

After the first accident in September 2008, Cessna increased the size of the aircraft's tail.

In the second accident, which occurred in March, the plane crashed after more than 100 flights and more than 150 hours in the air, the company said. The pilots were uninjured in the incidents.

The company will provide a complete update on the program at the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture show at the end of July, Stangarone said. He declined to provide further information until then.

Shenyang, located in Xinhua, China, will flight-test the production aircraft after they come off the line. The planes will then be disassembled and shipped to one of three U.S. sites chosen to reassemble the aircraft. One of them is Yingling Aviation in Wichita.

Cessna introduced the $111,500, two-seat light sport aircraft as a "starter" plane to encourage people to fly. It also will be used as a trainer.

The company unveiled the plane in 2006 and formally launched the program in July 2007.

Cessna selected Shenyang to manufacture the aircraft in order to lower production costs and offer the plane at competitive prices, officials have said.

Shenyang is a subsidiary of China Aviation Industry Corp., a government-owned consortium of aircraft manufacturers. Shenyang is a significant supplier to Boeing and Airbus and supplies parts to Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita.

Cessna is performing the design and government compliance work. It has personnel on site at Shenyang to oversee the manufacturing, quality assurance and technical design.

Reach Molly McMillin at 316-269-6708 or [email protected].