Textron Aviation has announced that it is moving the new Denali single-engine turboprop to the company’s Beechcraft brand. The model, which is expected to fly for the first time later this year, was launched in 2016 as the Cessna Denali. According to Textron, the first GE Aviation Catalyst engine was installed in the Denali prototype last month and engine runs are planned for August.
“The Beechcraft Denali represents our continued strategy to invest in clean-sheet and current products in both our Beechcraft and Cessna iconic brands,” said Textron Aviation CEO Ron Draper. “Beechcraft turboprops are renowned for their versatility and reliability, and the single-engine Denali is a perfect complement to this legendary family of products.”
The Catalyst-powered Beechcraft Denali will have a cruise speed of 285 knots, 1,100-pound full fuel payload and range of 1,600 NM. The aircraft is equipped with the Garmin G3000 intuitive avionics suite and will be capable of carrying up to eleven people. Textron is aiming to have the Denali certified in 2023.
PC12 much ?
This is so Textron can charge Beechcraft prices for replacement parts!
That’s EXACTLY what I was thinking. Parts prices just doubled.
Gives sales people a conversation starter, explaining ‘What does ‘Denali’ stand for?’
(Name comes from the days of the origin of the airplane when frontier names were popular and perhaps the design was intended for semi-frontier use. Ford motor company has had several versions of small SUVs/4bys/pickemups with names like King Ranch. (Well, perhaps that one only in the BC market, so at least a few people would have heard of that ranch.) But Oregon is a long way from where the name Denali comes from.)
They were originally going to name it “McKinley”, but you know how that goes…
What’s in a name? – probably not one of Textron’s better decisions – I would purchase a Cessna Denali to later transition into a CJ4 and I have to agree that a major blow in this change is that Beech parts prices will be considerably higher along with having an engine with not much of a history – the PC12 has a better range and speed and the transition to a PC24 will make more sense from a PC12 – I never understood the acquisition of Beech by Textron – I’m thinking that a lot of other potential buyers feel the same way – still not too late for Textron to wake up
That engine should have a lovely warranty (I’m a very small part of the Catalyst program.) The ultimate performance of the plane has yet to be determined, of course. The engine specs are on target.
At this point in time, I’d still get a PC12.
But wait, Cessna has the legendary single engine turboprop. What’s so good about full fuel and only 3 fat guys and their golf clubs.