Cessna 208 Caravan

The Cessna 208 Caravan is a utility aircraft produced by

Cessna. The project was commenced on November 20,
Cessna 208 Caravan
1981, and the prototype first flew on December 9, 1982.
The production model was certified by the FAA in
October 1984 and its Cargomaster freighter variant was
developed for FedEx. The 4 ft (1.2 m) longer 208B Super
Cargomaster first flew in 1986 and was developed into
the passenger 208B Grand Caravan.

The strutted, high wing 208 typically seats nine

passengers in its unpressurized cabin, is powered by a
single Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A tractor turboprop
and has a fixed tricycle landing gear, floats or skis. By
November 2017, 2,600 have been delivered and 20 Powered by a single turboprop, the Caravan
million flight hours logged. Caravans are used for flight has a high wing and a fixed tricycle landing gear
training, commuter airlines, VIP transport, air cargo and Role utility aircraft
humanitarian missions.
National origin United States
Manufacturer Cessna
First flight December 9, 1982
Contents
Introduction 1984
Development
Status In production
Chinese production
Primary users FedEx Feeder
Design
Brazilian Air Force
Variants Afghan Air Force
Civilian Colombian Air Force
Aftermarket variants
Produced 1982–present
Military
Number built 2,600 (Nov 2017)[1]
Operators
Unit cost 208 Caravan: US$2.32 million
Civil operators
208B Grand Caravan EX:
Military operators
US$2.685 million (2019)[2]
Accidents
Variants Soloy Pathfinder 21
Specifications (208 Caravan)
See also
References
External links

Development
On November 20, 1981, the project was given a go-ahead by Cessna for its Pawnee engineering facility.
John Berwick, chief engineer at Pawnee, came with a concept of a single engine, high-wing airplane with a
large payload. Berwick had originally approached VP Bill Boettger with the idea and once Dwane Wallace
approved it, Berwick told Russ Meyer he would design it.[3]

The prototype first flew on December 9, 1982.[4] The production

model was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
in October 1984.[5] A freighter variant without cabin windows was
developed at the request of Federal Express as the Cargomaster.[5]
Another cargo variant for Federal Express, with a longer fuselage
and a cargo pod under the belly, was developed as the 208B Super
Cargomaster and flew for the first time in 1986.[5] FedEx was
A FedEx Super Cargomaster with
initially planning to build twin-engine piston-powered airplanes with
cargo pod. The Cargomaster and
Piper Aircraft, but picked the Caravan after surveying it and having Super Cargomaster variants are built
flown the prototype, becoming its standard carrier.[3] without cabin windows.

A passenger model, the 208B Grand Caravan, was derived from the
Super Cargomaster.[5] Since then, the Caravan has undergone a
number of design evolutions, including upgrading the avionics in
2008 to provide a glass cockpit with the Garmin G1000 system.[6] In
January 2013 a higher-powered (867 shp from P&WC PT6A-140)
version, the Grand Caravan EX, received FAA certification.[7]

In August 2016, Textron announced that it would move the Cessna

208 production line from its Wichita headquarters to its
Independence, Kansas production facility, for manufacture alongside
Cockpit of a pre-2008 Caravan
along the piston-powered 172S Skyhawk, 182T Skylane, T206H
Turbo Stationair and Cessna TTx; and the Citation M2 light jet. The
move was made to make room for production of the Citation
Longitude and Denali in Wichita.[8]

Chinese production

In May 2012 Cessna announced that an assembly line for the 208 would be established in China, with the
government-owned China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (CAIGA) conducting final assembly of
Caravans at its plant in Shijiazhuang for the Chinese market.[9] Chinese government approval was granted in
September the following year and the first Chinese-assembled Caravan was delivered in December
2013.[10][11] By April 2016 about 30 aircraft, assembled from kits of parts shipped from the US by Cessna,
had been delivered to Chinese operators by the joint venture.[12]

Design
The Cessna 208 is a high-wing braced cabin monoplane powered by
a single Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A turboprop in tractor
configuration. The cabin has room for nine passengers and two crew
when used as a passenger aircraft with four doors: one for each crew
member, an airstair door on the right side of the cabin and a cargo
door on the left. The aircraft can be optionally fitted with an
underslung cargo pod.

The basic 208 airframe has a fixed tricycle landing gear but can also Low-density seating in the cabin of a
be fitted with various types of landing gear, allowing it to operate in passenger-carrying version
a wide variety of environments. Some common adaptations include
floats with retractable landing gear on the Caravan Amphibian model and skis.[5]

The Caravan interior can be outfitted with seats or as a cargo

compartment. The standard high-density airline configuration has
four rows of 1-2 seating behind the two seats in the cockpit. This
variant is capable of holding up to thirteen passengers, although it is
marketed as being able to make a profit carrying just four.[13] The
cabin can be configured in a low density passenger configuration,
with 1-1 seating, as a combination of passengers and cargo, or as a
strictly cargo aircraft.[14] Many variants include an underbelly cargo
pod, which can be used for additional freight capacity, or for 208B Grand Caravan in the
passenger baggage. A number of Caravans are operated as skydiving Netherlands, modified with roller door
aircraft with the left-side cargo hatch converted to a roll-up door.[15] for parachuting operations; skydivers
sitting on the cabin floor are visible
The airplane typically seats nine passengers with a single pilot, inside the rear roller door.
although with a FAR Part 23 waiver it can seat up to fourteen
passengers. The aircraft is also used for cargo operations.

Variants

Civilian
208 Caravan
First production variant with a PT6A-114 turboprop engine and seating for up to nine
passengers. The landplane variant was type approved on October 23, 1984 and the
seaplane version with Wipline Model 8000 Amphibious/Seaplane Floats was type approved
on March 26, 1986. Early aircraft can be modified to use the higher-powered PT6A-114A but
have restricted operating limits.

208 Caravan 675

Marketing designation for the 208 Caravan with a higher-powered PT6A-114A engine.

208A Cargomaster
A pure-cargo version of the Caravan developed with
Federal Express (now FedEx); 40 aircraft produced.[16]
All 208A aircraft were serialized as 208 models.

208B Grand Caravan

Officially named the 208B Caravan but marketed as the
Grand Caravan. The 208B is 4 ft (1.2 m) longer than the
208; extending the cabin by the same amount. The 208B
has a PT6A-114A engine. It was originally certified as a A FedEx 208B Super Cargomaster
two-seater cargo version on October 9, 1986 and as an
11-seater passenger aircraft on December 13, 1989.

208B Grand Caravan EX

Marketing name for upgraded version of the 208B Caravan certified in December
2012, with a more powerful 867 hp (647 kW) Pratt and Whitney Canada PT6A-140 that
improves the rate of climb by 38% and was developed by Pratt & Whitney Canada
specifically to power the 208B.[17][18] The unladen weight is 807 lb (366 kg) more but
 maximum payload is only 90 lb (41 kg) more.
While the 192 hp (143 kW) more powerful PT6A-
140 gives a 11-knot (20 km/h) higher cruise speed
– and rate of climb is improved by 94 feet per
minute (0.48 m/s), range is reduced to 964 nautical
miles (1,785 km) on a similar fuel capacity. It
requires a longer take off run at 2,160 feet (660 m)
and its landing roll is at 1,871 feet (570 m).[19] In
early October 2019, after just under six years in
production, the company had delivered 500 Grand 208B Grand Caravan in Mexico with
Caravan EXs.[20] its right rear airstair door open. The
208B Grand Caravan is 4 feet
208B Super Cargomaster (1.2 m) longer than the 208 and the
passenger-carrying version has eight
Marketing name for the cargo variant of the 208B side windows instead of the 208's
series. FedEx purchased 260 of this variant. six.

Caravan Amphibian
A 208 or 208B with either Wipaire 8000 or 8750 floats
that have retractable landing gear, for water landings or
land operations.[14][21]

Aftermarket variants

Production aircraft modified after delivery by Supplemental Type

Certificates:
Amphibious Caravan taking off from
Soloy Pathfinder 21 Loch Lomond in Scotland
Single example of a twin-engined stretched fuselage
development of the 208 by the Soloy Corporation. Two
PT6D-114A engines mounted side-by-side drove a single propeller; and the fuselage was
extended by 70 inches (1.8 m) behind the wing. The project was abandoned as the design
was unable to meet certification requirements.[22]

850 Caravan
208 with an 850 hp (634 kW) Honeywell TPE331-12JR-701S engine, installed by Aero Twin
Inc.[23]
950 Grand Caravan
208B with a 1,000 hp (746 kW) Honeywell TPE331-12JR-704AT engine, installed by Aero
Twin Inc.[23]
Blackhawk Caravan
208 and 208B conversion to 850 hp (634 kW) PT6A-42A.[24]
Supervan 900
208B with a 850 hp (634 kW) (900 hp (671 kW) flat-rated) Honeywell TPE331-12JR engine,
installed by Texas Turbine Conversions, Inc.[25]
XP42A Upgrade
208B with an 850 hp (634 kW) Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-42A engine, installed by
Blackhawk[26]

Military
U-27A
 United States Department of Defense designation for the
Cessna 208.
C-16
United States Department of Defense designation for
proposed variant to be used by the United States Army An Iraqi Air Force Cessna 208B
in El Salvador and Nicaragua during the 1980s. launches a Hellfire missile
C-98
Brazilian Air Force designation for the standard U-27.[27]
AC-208 Combat Caravan
Caravan with wing hardpoints. An ISTAR version built by ATK armed with Hellfire missiles is
used by the Iraqi Air Force.[28][29] The AC-208 received its combat debut in January 2014
when the Iraqi Air Force began employing it against insurgents in Anbar province.[30] One
aircraft crashed in March 2016.[31]
The Lebanese Air Force requested a new AC-208 and the conversion of the 208 it already
operated.[32]
Other AC-208s are scheduled to be delivered to countries in the Middle East and Africa
through the Foreign Military Sales program. Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso are
possible recipients of these AC-208 Combat Caravans.[33]

Operators
Certified in 100 countries, 2,600 Caravans have been delivered with nearly 20 million flight hours logged by
November 2017. Engineered for high payloads and short and rough runways, with single-engine economy
and simplicity, Caravans are used for flight training to recreation, commuter airlines to VIP transport, cargo
carriers and humanitarian missions.[1] It is also used by government agencies in law enforcement, air
ambulance services, police and military.[3]

Civil operators

The Cessna 208 is used by governmental organizations and by a large number of companies for police, air
ambulance, passenger transport, air charter, freight and parachuting operations. FedEx operates 239
aircraft.[34]

Military operators

A total of 134 Cessna 208s were in military service in 2016.[35]

Accidents
As of 31 December 2017 there had been 216 Caravan hull losses from all causes, including 206 accidents
causing 427 fatalities – an average of 2 fatalities per hull-loss, with 29.7% of all occupants surviving fatal
accidents; and six hijackings causing one fatality. For the 198 out of the 216 hull-loss occurrences where the
aircraft was in use and its flight nature is known, 36.9% were passenger flights, 33.8% cargo flights, 8.1%
military flights, 5.6% special flights – agriculture, survey, etc., 4% private and business flights, 3% test or
flight training and 8.1% miscellaneous uses – demonstrations, deliveries, illegal.[36]

Specifications (208 Caravan)

Data from Cessna Textron[37]
General characteristics
Crew: one or two
Capacity: nine passengers or 13 with FAR
Part 23 waiver
Length: 37 ft 7 in (11.46 m)
Wingspan: 52 ft 1 in (15.87 m)
Height: 14 ft 11 in (4.53 m)
Wing area: 279 sq ft (25.96 m2)
Aspect ratio: 9.702
Airfoil: wing root: NACA 23017.424, wing
tip: NACA 23012[38]
Empty weight: 4,730 lb (2,145 kg)
Gross weight: 8,000 lb (3,629 kg)
Maximum landing weight : 7,800 lb
(3,538 kg) Left: three-axis view of 208 Caravan Amphibian and side
Fuel capacity: 2,224 lb (1,009 kg/332 view of standard 208 Caravan
gal/1,257 l) Right: 208B Grand Caravan with side views of Super
Cabin height: 54 in (1.37 m) Cargomaster and standard versions
Cabin width: 64 in (1.63 m)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney Canada
PT6A-114A turboprop, 675 shp (503 kW)
Propellers: 3-bladed McCauley Constant speed, full feathering, reversible pitch

Performance
Cruise speed: 186 kn (214 mph, 344 km/h) true air speed
Stall speed: 61 kn (70 mph, 113 km/h) calibrated air speed
Range: 1,070 nmi (1,232 mi, 1,982 km)
Service ceiling: 25,000 ft (7,600 m)
Rate of climb: 1,234 ft/min (6.27 m/s)
Wing loading: 28.674 lb/sq ft (139.792 kg/m2)

Avionics
Garmin G1000 with GFC700 integrated digital automatic flight control system

See also
Related development

Soloy Pathfinder 21

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

GippsAero GA10
PAC 750XL
Pilatus PC-12
 Quest Kodiak

A 208B Grand Caravan (foreground)

alongside a Quest Kodiak on an
airport apron

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External links
Official website (http://cessna.txtav.com/en/turboprop/caravan)

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