Textron Aviation announced it is realigning its turboprop\naircraft lineup as the single-engine Beechcraft Denali (previously branded the\nCessna Denali) joins the legendary twin-engine Beechcraft King Air 260 and King\nAir 360\/360ER as part of the company\u2019s high-performance turboprop product\nlineup. The aircraft development program continues to progress toward a first\nflight anticipated later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Beechcraft Denali represents our continued strategy to\ninvest in clean-sheet and current products in both our Beechcraft and Cessna\niconic brands. Beechcraft turboprops are renowned for their versatility and reliability,\nand the single-engine Denali is a perfect complement to this legendary family\nof products,\u201d said Ron Draper, Textron Aviation, president and CEO. \u201cPilots and\npassengers will appreciate the aircraft for its enhanced capabilities,\ninnovative technology and all-around passenger comfort.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Beechcraft Denali is designed to outperform its\ncompetition with projected lower operating costs, Garmin G3000 avionics, and\nthe largest cabin in its class. Engineered to achieve cruise speeds of 285\nknots with a full fuel payload of 1,100 pounds, the Denali will have a range of\n1,600 nautical miles at high speed cruise with one pilot and four passengers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe continue to receive interest around the world from\nturboprop and piston owners of competing aircraft, who are looking to move into\nan aircraft with greater performance and enhanced passenger experience,\u201d said\nLannie O\u2019Bannion, senior vice president, Global Sales and Flight Operations.\n\u201cThe Denali will offer an outstanding combination of lower operating costs and\ntechnological advancements, along with the widest and most comfortable cabin in\nits segment. And all of it is backed by the most extensive global network of\nfactory-direct service centers in the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Beechcraft Denali development program has achieved\nmultiple milestones throughout the past six months as it continues to gain\nmomentum toward its first flight. Earlier this month, the first Full Authority\nDigital Engine Controlled (FADEC) GE Aviation Catalyst engine was installed on\nthe first Beechcraft Denali prototype airframe and the aircraft was powered on\nfor the first time. Engine runs are anticipated in August, followed by a first\nflight for the aircraft projected for later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two other Denali flight test articles are also in\ndevelopment. Three additional ground test articles will be used for the\nairframe static and fatigue tests, and for cabin interior development and testing.\nThe company anticipates certification for the Denali in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re making remarkable progress with the aircraft\u2019s\ndevelopment program,\u201d said Chris Hearne, senior vice president, Engineering.\n\u201cWe have already achieved a number of important milestones, and the next few\nmonths will feature a great amount of activity as our team prepares the Denali\nfor its inaugural flight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Technological advances<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Denali is powered by GE Aviation\u2019s new advanced Catalyst\nengine, which has completed over 2,300 hours of testing and prepping for a\nfirst flight on its Beechcraft King Air flying test bed. The Catalyst is a more\nenvironmentally friendly engine that burns less fuel than older turboprop\ntechnologies. The engine can also use sustainable aviation fuel, which results\nin lower emissions. The FADEC-equipped, 1,300 shaft horsepower (SHP)-rated\nturboprop engine eases pilot workload with its single-lever power and propeller\ncontrol. The FADEC control of the engine provides trend monitoring, which\nallows for on-condition maintenance with no mid-life Hot Section Inspection\nrequired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The airplane is equipped with McCauley\u2019s new 105-inch\ndiameter composite, 5-blade, constant speed propeller, which is full feathering\nwith reversible pitch and ice protection. The propeller will undergo a series\nof certification tests, and several are already underway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Denali cockpit features the Garmin G3000 intuitive\navionics suite featuring high-resolution and touchscreen controllers. An\nintegrated Garmin autothrottle is now a standard feature, which interfaces with\nthe Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS) and Flight Management System (FMS)\nto provide easy speed control throughout all regimes of flight from takeoff to\ntouchdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other G3000 features include a 10-inch weather radar,\nAdvanced Terrain Awareness Warning Systems (TAWS), and dual transponders with\nautomatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) capabilities, which are\ncompliant with the latest air traffic control requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Class-leading passenger experience<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Beechcraft Denali\u2019s flat floor cabin is designed to be\nthe largest in its segment and offers the versatility to easily convert between\npassenger and cargo configurations. The Denali cabin features a standard\nseating configuration of six individual reclining seats and offers a nine-place\nhigh density seating option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The aircraft boasts a digital pressurization system\nmaintaining a 6,000-foot cabin altitude at a service ceiling of 30,000 feet.\nThe Denali also offers passengers the convenience of adjusting the cabin\ntemperature and airflow from a climate-control switch panel located on the\ncabin sidewall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Denali customers will also enjoy large cabin windows,\ninterior LED lighting, a forward refreshment cabinet and an in-flight\naccessible baggage compartment. An optional externally serviceable belted\nlavatory with pocket door enclosure that is located in the rear of the cabin is\nalso available.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Textron Aviation announced it is realigning its turboprop aircraft lineup as the single-engine Beechcraft Denali (previously branded the Cessna Denali) joins the legendary twin-engine Beechcraft King Air 260 and King Air 360\/360ER as part of the company\u2019s high-performance turboprop product lineup. The aircraft development program continues to progress toward a first flight anticipated later this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":19004,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/397535-Beechcraft-Denali-on-Ramp-00549a-original-1626870812edit.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19003"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19003\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19006,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19003\/revisions\/19006"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}