Things aren't going all that well for Cessna and it's eagerly anticipated SkyCatcher light plane program.
During a test flight last week, a prototype of the plane crashed while in a planned "rapid and disorienting spin" designed to test its ballistic recovery system. Initially, this system was unable to pull the SkyCatcher out of the spin, and by the time the plane was stabilized it was flying too low for the pilot to safely parachute out, a mandatory protocol. He landed it with damage to the nose and landing gear and emerged safely, but the plane was totaled minutes later when winds on the ground reinflated the plane's parachute and dragged it a half mile into a fence.
It's the second spin-related crash of a SkyCatcher in six months. In
September, a test plane was destroyed when the pilot, unable to control the plane, deployed his parachute and floated to safety.
According to James Swickard, intelligence editor at Business & Commercial Aviation Magazine, manufacturers push their planes hard during testing. "When you're testing a new plane, you expect problems," he told Wired.com. "And in my opinion spin testing is the most hazardous test that a plane goes through."
Still, the high-profile crash isn't good news for Cessna. "I have no idea how much this will push the program back," Swickard says. "But I do know they'll have to build a new prototype. Both of the ones they had have been destroyed."
Not surprisingly, company execs are playing down the significance of the crash. "Cessna traditionally tests well above standards, and that's what we were doing here," a company spokesman told the Wichita Eagle. "It's still an important airplane program for us," the company's CEO Jack
Pelton added.
That's for sure. Cessna is positioning the SkyCatcher as the
next generation light plane for recreational pilots and trainers. The two-seater, which is eight feet and 22 feet long with a wingspan of 30 feet, weighs 1,320 pounds, has a range of 550 miles, and can cruise at 136 miles per hour. It starts at
$111,000, which according to Cessna breaks down to an operating cost of $.50 a mile or $57 per hour. So far, response to the plane has been
overwhelmingly positive, with over 1,000 SkyCatchers on order. "Pilots went nuts when they first heard about this plane in 2007," Swickard says. "We haven't had a new trainer like this in decades."
Cessna was hoping to deliver 40 of the planes this year, but admits that it's re-evaluating the program in light of the latest crash. That's sure to bum out recreational pilots, who are chomping at the bit to start flying the new plane.
"If you fly for the joy of flying and want to own a plane, this is the plane you want," says Swickard. "It's the way to go."
Photos: Cessna
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