Cessna Skycatcher 162

[Guest AusDarren]

Cessna has announced production to Commence of the New LSA

 

The Skycatcher more shoulder room than a 206, yet it is an LSA

 

http://www.cessnaskycatcher.com

 

with cool pics and a couple of videos, and full technical specs.;)

 

So what is GA and what is recreational?? the lines become increasingly blurred.

 

Regards,

 

AusDarren

 

 

[Yenn]

Cessna have at last caught on and are now trying to catch up. It looks just like a plastic parrot to me except of course it will be aluminium.

 

 

[Guest disperse]

at 376.5kg empty ........dosent leave much weight for the important stuff ...... like fuel and a carton of crownies

 

 

[vk3auu]

Cessnas LSA

 

Apart from the price with two larger than average blokes you couldn't fill the tank and still be under the 600 kg limit, so owners might be a bit restricted. There are probably quite a few more practical aircraft although it might appeal to dedicated Cessna types.

 

David

 

 

[Guest brentc]

376kg's is no worse than the J230 Jabiru. They are around that weight too. You can't always expect to carry a full complement of passengers with full fuel and there aren't many that can, including larger GA types.

 

 

[IanR]

Its a bit more of an issue when the plane only has two seats !! In GA most four seaters make excellent two seat touring aircraft !!

 

 

[Guest pelorus32]

I understand that Cessna are lobbying for a change of MTOW for LSA from 1320lbs to 1400lbs...wonder why. A useful load of 490lbs or 222kg doesn't cut it really.

 

For instance my Narromine trip this year the load was: Pilot & Pax 165kg, fuel 65kg, baggage, tie down, tools, ERSA, charts, etc 18kg: 248kg. Not sure how you get much less than that sensibly.

 

M

 

 

[Guest brentc]

Happy birthday by the way!

 

 

[vk3auu]

Just an aside. My understanding is that the RaAus weight limit of 600 kg for non-LSA doesn't become legal until part 103/149 becomes law. Can anyone verify that?

 

David

 

 

[Guest pelorus32]

Thanks Brent <>

 

VK that's right.

 

M

 

 

[bushpilot]

How cool are those seats!!

 

And the mainly 'glass' panel is way unconventional in presentation.. I wonder why it is offset like that? Maybe as simple as aligning with the PIC and making room for those cup-holders! ;-)

 

 

[bushpilot]

Pretty impressive numbers also:

 

Takeoff Distance S.L. (Ground Roll) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 770 ft (234.7 m)

 

Takeoff Distance S.L. (To Clear 50 ft Obstacle) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1250 ft (381 m)

 

 

 

Max Climb Rate S.L. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 890 fpm (271.3 m)

 

 

 

Max Speed S.L. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 kts (219 km/hr, 136 mph)

 

 

 

Max Range and Endurance at 6,000 ft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470 nm / 5.8 hrs

 

 

 

Cruise Speed (77% pwr. at 6,000 ft) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 kts (207 km/hr,129 mph)

 

 

 

Cruise Range and Endurance (77% pwr. at 6,000 ft) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390 nm / 3.4 hrs

 

 

 

Landing Distance (Ground Roll) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420 ft (128 m)

 

 

 

Landing Distance (To Clear 50 ft Obstacle) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1040 ft (317 m)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest AusDarren]

Cessna Says Over 400 SkyCatcher Orders Placed Since Sunday

 

Wed, 25 Jul '07

 

Concept... Proven!

 

The SkyCatcher is catching some big orders at AirVenture 2007. Through Tuesday -- just over two days since the planemaker began accepting orders for its new light sport aircraft -- Cessna says it has garnered over 400 orders for the plane.

 

 

 

 

 

"Orders in the first two days have been outstanding and support our business decision to enter this booming new market," said Jack Pelton, Cessna chairman, president and CEO. "The combination of new technology in the Garmin avionics suite and lighter-weight Continental engine, and Cessna's reputation for high quality production and world-class product support are proving to be the right mix sought by people looking for a low-cost aircraft option.

 

"The tremendous response by the market has prompted us to extend our introductory price of $109,500 to the end of AirVenture," Pelton said.

 

Cessna originally announced it was studying an LSA entry at the 2006 AirVenture in Oshkosh, unveiling a proof-of-concept aircraft used as a flying testbed and to gauge market response. The company announced July 10 it would proceed with development of a new LSA product.

 

As ANN reported, the SkyCatcher features an exclusive Garmin glass cockpit, the G300, and a Teledyne Continental O-200D lightweight 100-horsepower engine.

 

FMI: www.cessnaskycatcher.com

 

 

[bushpilot]

A truly significant event..

 

Thinking about the new Cessna LSA, I reckon this is one of the most significant events in the evolution of our sport - rec. aviation and LSA generally.

 

With a respected manufacturer like Cessna getting into the category, and with a lot of noise around the launch and the follow-through, a lot more people out there will come to know about the category.

 

Also, those that already know about the category but see it as a bit quirky, will likely be positively influenced by a main-stream brand entering the market.

 

It's worth trawling through the Cessna "Skycatcher" blog and checking out the thoroughness of their presentation... http://www.cessnaskycatcher.com/

 

Cheers,

 

Chris

 

 

[jetboy]

Looks good although I would have thought it more appropriate to call it a 142 as it resembles the 140 and they often made the trigear versions the -2. seeing they already had the name Skylark, that would have sounded nicer too.

 

The figures are not much off those of the 150C, last of the fastbacks, :

 

Max SL 127 mph

 

Max @ 75% 125 mph

 

Climb 760 fpm

 

Ceiling 15600 ft

 

TO ground run 680 ft, 50' 1205 ft

 

Land 360 ft, over 50' 1055 ft

 

range std. 610 mi, longrange tanks 945 mi

 

I miss my 150a already.......

 

Ralph

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Jim Sweeney reporting from Airventure on UltraFlight Radio stated that Cessna announced that it has received over 360 orders from the private sector and over 1100!!! orders from Cessna Flight Centers. Delivery to start late 08 or early 09.

 

Apparently the use of the Continental O200 is a main seller.

 

Also mentioned was Cirrus Aircraft to release a LSA that is to be built in Europe.

 

download full report at www.ultraflightradio.com

 

or try this

 

ozzie

 

 

[Guest browng]

A very interesting development, and definitely good news for wider acceptance of recreational aviation, but a quick comparison with my O-200 powered Jodel D11, a 1948 design, makes me wonder where exactly we have progressed. I know its not a direct equivalent, as the Jodel is not limited to the LSA 600kg, but it is an interesting comparison nonetheless, particularly as both aircraft use the same engine. The only real advantage I can see is the cabin width which is certainly impressive, but the Jodel cabin is still wider than a C152. I guess nowadays Cessna felt they needed to cater for two 'supersize-me' Americans.

 

JodelD11

 

Empty........... 340kg

 

MTOW............ 620kg

 

Useful.......... 280kg

 

Cruise ..........110kt

 

Range ...........900km

 

Climb ...........790fpm

 

Skycatcher

 

Empty........... 376.5kg

 

MTOW............ 598.7kg

 

Useful.......... 223.3kg

 

Cruise ..........112kt

 

Range ...........870km

 

Climb ...........890fpm

 

edit;typo

 

 

[Yenn]

The Jodel will do me. A proven plane and a lot cheaper to buy, of course it doesn't have all the electronic gizmo"s usually but I can live very well with that. Also it won't have the corrosion problems which would be a problem for landing on the beach

 

 

[Guest browng]

The Jodel will do me. A proven plane and a lot cheaper to buy, of course it doesn't have all the electronic gizmo"s usually but I can live very well with that. Also it won't have the corrosion problems which would be a problem for landing on the beach

Interesting point you raise about the "electronic gizmos", I note that the Skycatcher in standard form has absolutely no analog instruments. After 35 years as an electro-mechanical engineer, I'll be damned if I'll fly anything without at least a backup analog ASI. Air Transport IFR glass cockpits are fine, they are at least duplicated, but even then, you will usually find an analog ASI and Gyro Horizon for that totally 'impossible' OMG moment.

 

 

[BigPete]

G'day browng,

 

tell us about your J3 - and how about a few pics of your Jodel and the Piper! ;)

 

regards

 

 

[Guest browng]

G'day browng,tell us about your J3 - and how about a few pics of your Jodel and the Piper! ;)

 

regards

Asking me to talk about J3 cubs is definitely a mistake, unless you want to be bored rigid. I have owned two J3's and have hundreds of hours on type, I have studied the rich history in detail and am totally besotted by it, I have a collection of original Cub memorabilia, newspaper ad's, match books, badges, pilot wings, manuals, etc, in other words I am a total J3 nut......

 

To avoid overkill, I have posted a few pictures with narrative in the gallery, to see them just click the '6' under my details on the left under the Cub logo. If anybody want more info, just ask........

 

 

[BigPete]

Wonderful aeroplane - thanks for sharing with us.

 

regards

 

 

[Guest browng]

Wonderful aeroplane - thanks for sharing with us.regards

Thanks, I have uploaded an article on the history of the J3 Cub to the downloads section. I originally wrote it a while back for our club newsletter (Superlight Aircraft Club of WA), but it may be of interest to some who like me have an interest in classic aircraft. It is a Microsoft 'Word' File.

 

George

 

 

[Yenn]

I hear that Cessna have taken orders for 720 of them. Skycatchers, not J3 Cubs.

 

 

[Guest browng]

I hear that Cessna have taken orders for 720 of them. Skycatchers, not J3 Cubs.

That's 720 private orders, apparently they have over 1,000 more from Cessa Flight Centres (mainly flight schools), but it seems deliveries won't start until early 2008.