WACO, Texas, October 25, 2011 – Blackhawk, the aviation industry’s leader in improving single- and twin-engine turboprop aircraft performance, is expanding its global market for the Cessna 208B Caravan XP42A performance upgrade into Brazil and South America. The company received a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for the program on October 14, 2011, from Brazil’s Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC), the national civil aviation agency equivalent to the U.S. Federal Aviation Agency (FAA).

ANAC’s certification follows similar approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in September and from the FAA in June 2011 that permit XP42A utilization in Europe and the U.S., respectively. ANAC certification enables Blackhawk to market, install and support the XP42A program for Cessna Caravans licensed to operate in Brazil. Blackhawk recently completed and delivered its first U.S. XP42A upgrade, and European deliveries are on schedule.

“Blackhawk’s XP42A performance upgrade package will soon be a major part of our worldwide business,” said Jim Allmon, Blackhawk president and CEO. “Adding ANAC approval to Blackhawk’s FAA- and EASA-certified XP42A program makes the world’s best Caravan performance upgrade available in a large and growing market for this highly popular aircraft.”

The XP42A system includes a factory-new Pratt & Whitney PT6A-42A engine rated at 850 shaft horsepower continuous, exchanged for the Caravan’s existing engine, with a 1,000-hour, no-calendar-limit Pratt & Whitney engine warranty. The package also features a factory-new, wide-chord, 100-inch diameter Hartzell four-blade propeller, a new autoclave-cured carbon-fiber composite cowling and high efficiency inlet duct, produced by Blackhawk Composites, a new 40 percent larger oil cooler, a four-point engine mount ring assembly and all new engine mount isolators, a new engine hose kit, new Blackhawk Hawkeye DigiLog engine gauges and two new Frakes exhaust stacks.

The system offers a doubled rate of climb with less fuel consumption, a four percent increase in take-off weight, better take-off performance and safety margins and a 15 percent increase in cruise speed. It also reduces operating costs and increases revenue potential. In addition, the package provides a 3,600-hour TBO or 5,000-hour TBO (for qualified operators) with a qualified trend monitoring program. Documentation includes a flight manual supplement with full flight test-certified performance and maintenance and repair manuals. Blackhawk offers full technical support for life of the airplane.

Brazil’s civil aviation fleet, one of the world’s largest, exceeds 10,000 aircraft of all types, and the nation is one of the largest users of Caravans in commercial, civil, military and law enforcement roles. The Brazilian Air Force, Força Aérea Brasileira, (FAB) currently flies 29 Caravans, designated U-98, and has ordered nine additional aircraft. The South American continent is the second largest Caravan market worldwide, with about 300 aircraft, 14 percent of the global Caravan fleet.

Blackhawk, founded in 1999 in Waco, Texas, is a recognized aviation leader in providing engine performance solutions to the turboprop fleet. The company has the largest installed fleet of STC twin-engine turboprop engine upgrades, making Blackhawk the largest non-OEM buyer of new Pratt & Whitney turboprop engines in the world. A worldwide network of approved dealers and service support centers complements Blackhawk’s U.S. facilities. For more information, please visit www.blackhawk.aero.